Tales of the Magical Buchou
by ZukaFujiZone
Summary: Sailor Moon AU! A mysterious freshman :Echizen: appears at Seishun Academy, claiming he is Tezuka’s son. And just as the Rudolphians are about to dominate the world, drastic measures were taken. The Magical Buchou is on his way to save the planet! TeFu
1. From Today On, You Are a Magical Buchou!

**Title: **Tales of the Magical Buchou [Arc I: The intrusion of the Rudolphians]**  
Pairings: **TezukaxFuji as main. Hints of Golden pair, MomoRyo and InuiKai later on. THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NO PILLAR PAIR. **I REPEAT, NO PILLAR PAIR.** AND I'M NOT EVEN SORRY.  
**Rating: **PG-15.**  
Genre: **Romance, Adventure, Drama.**  
Summary: **Sailor Moon/Zorro AU! A mysterious freshman appears at Seishun Academy, claiming he is Tezuka's son. And just as the Rudolphians are about to dominate the world, drastic measures were taken. Super Tezuka Man is on his way to save the planet!**  
Warning: **Crack, nonsense and shameless stupidity ahead!**  
Disclaimer: **If I owned them, Echizen wouldn't be so much of a Mary Sues and Tezuka and Fuji would be celebrating their wedding before the end of the series.

**A/N: **This is Arc I of my new series "Tales of the Magical Buchou", in which Tezuka discovers he has to save the planet from being dominated by Rudolphians with his... son.

Many many thanks to LoveFujiTez for beta-ing this work. Loads of thanks as well Tacuma and MariahGalux for helping me with editing as well! :3 I dedicate this chapter to you guys~ You are wonderful friends, truly.

* * *

**~ Prologue ~**

_A lone figure was quietly seated on the flat edged roof of the famous boarding school, Seishun Academy. His short, muscular legs rocked to the slow rhythm of the soft blowing wind as his dark, messy hair flowed freely from underneath his white cap. Carelessly, he rested his chin on his right hand for support while his left held what seemed to be a crystal-black TennisBall. He scanned his surrounding until his eyes landed on the crowd slowly gathering around the renowned tennis courts. _

"_Heh, so this is Seigaku," he said to no one in particular with a voice overflowing with confidence and pride._

_Suddenly, the glistening object in his hand started to beep loudly, causing him to grin wider. He directed the crystal ball towards a particular bespectacled youth barking out orders near the tennis courts and the beeping became incessant. The small boy grinned triumphantly and stood up, pushing the TennisBall back into his pocket and dusting the nonexistent dirt off his black shorts. _

"_Karupin!" he summoned and immediately, the Himalayan cat made itself visible before him. He stared at the fur ball for a second before slowly lifting a single finger, pointing directly to the men's tennis club captain. "Target located," he said finally before jumping off the eight-stories-high building in one swift motion._

**~ Tales of the Magical Buchou ~**_  
Chapter One: From today on, you are a Magical Buchou!_

Seishun Academy was as most people would say, one of the best boarding schools in Japan along with Hyotei, Rikkai Dai and St-Rudolph. Attending such a prestigious school was every single athlete's dream. The facilities were exceptional, the dormitories more than orderly and most of all, the education along with their respective sports club were top seeded in the tournaments the country hosted. For every graduate, a promising career lied beyond. Even those who did not wish to concentrate in sports had managed to become popular with little effort.

Seishun Academy was large, there were top-quality facilities for almost every sport one could imagine and the school itself was eight stories high (two of which were used as dormitories for the students). The school sent invitations to promising athletes they found scattered throughout the country and to people's dismay, it was the only way one could attend the high-class academy.

Tezuka Kunimitsu was one of those few honoured students attending Seigaku. Cold and prideful, he had a commanding voice that no one dared disobey. His rimless spectacles never left the bridge of his nose, just as his stoic mask remained plastered on his face at all times. He was Captain of the famous tennis club and was admired by all. With the determined commitment of leading Seishun Academy to the nationals, the regulars on the team followed him without any hesitation. Girls swooned when he passed by and even teachers straightened their backs, mimicking as best as they could his dignity.

On that late afternoon, Tezuka was busy ordering the non-regulars into running thirty laps around the courts when a small figure appeared from behind him. He immediately recognized the soft chuckles and glistening honey-brown hair of the resident prodigy.

"Fuji," he acknowledged, his features softening ever so slightly at the sight of his childhood friend and current roommate.

"Maa, you shouldn't be so hard on them, Tezuka, they are already exhausted from the ranking matches we played this morning," Fuji reprimanded him playfully.

"That's right, nya! We're too tired to play anyway!" a voice chimed. Seigaku's two best players turned to see Kikumaru Eiji bouncing his way towards them with his doubles partner following behind closely.

"Eiji, you can not be tired if you can still jump so high," Oishi Shuichiroh, the team's vice-captain remarked playfully.

"The probability of him being sugar high is 73.5 percent," Inui, the data specialist informed them while scribbling down information on his green notebook.

"Oh, I see there is a gathering of the regulars. Why hasn't anyone informed me?" a loud voice mocked, and Momoshiro appeared from behind Inui with a nonchalant Kaidoh and a shy Kawamura trailing behind.

"It's because there wasn't one in the first place, idiot peach" the one nicknamed the 'Viper' retorted.

"Care to repeat that, Mamushi?" Momo and Kaidoh glared at each other, their foreheads pressed together and their fists grabbing the other's collar. Kawamura tried desperately to prevent an upcoming battle between the only two juniors that earned spots as regulars.

Oishi, being the mother hen he was, immediately got himself stuck in the heart of the dispute with his doubles partner cheering for him and adding fuel to the fire. Fuji chuckled at his unique teammates' antics while Tezuka felt a headache coming menacingly his way. He massaged his throbbing forehead and was about to order every single regular to laps when a loud yelp tore through the silent courts. "Wait… no… KARUPIN!!" the voice screamed.

Tezuka just about managed to raise his head in the direction of the voice when a solid body landed on his own and, being caught off guard, the extra weight pushed him down. There was a series of collective gasps after the collision took place, but Tezuka felt somewhat fine, after luckily landing on something soft. The body on top of his removed itself with as much dignity left, and voiced a soft, annoying "Che, Mada mada dane, Karupin".

It was then a series of loud shouts and wolf whistles resounded, most of them coming from the male students regularly watching the tennis club practice.

"Nice move, Buchou!" some shouted.

"Look, despite being so expressionless, he still loves his wife so much!" another laughed.

"Tezuka is being kinky!" they all chorused finally.

It was then said kinky youth noticed the 'soft object' he landed on was Fuji. They managed, God knows how, to earn the title of 'Husband' and 'Wife' during the beginning of their third year and every student of the whole school knew and gossiped about it. Fuji would just chuckle, and it bothered Tezuka to no end that the prodigy was just fine with it.

He cleared his throat and hastily removed himself from on top of Fuji, trying to dismiss the images forming in his head from their suggestive position. So what if the honey-haired boy was utterly breathtaking? They were only… suited acquaintances and Tezuka tried to restrain himself from thinking that they were more than just that.

He could see from the corner of his eyes Fuji's cheeks flush as he stood up and doubted he looked any better. "Sorry," he muttered, trying to avoid eye contact.

Fuji smiled a little and shook his head in dismissal. "It's alright, I'm not wound—"

"Ahem."

Everyone around them turned their attention back to the mysterious boy who previously landed on their Buchou. The small freshman had his red racket pointing at Tezuka's face, his huge golden eyes mischievous and provoking.

"You're the captain, aren't you?" he asked, but judging from the confidence that overflowed from his voice, he already knew the answer. "Play a tennis match against me," he challenged.

Tezuka quirked an eyebrow, wondering how the unknown newcomer managed to sneak into their private school. He could already hear the displeased whispers among the club members.

"Your name?" he asked.

The boy hesitated a moment before blurting out "Echizen Ryoma".

"Who are you to talk so disrespectfully of our captain?!" Arai, a promising junior from the tennis club was the first to voice out his disapproval.

"I accept your challenge," Tezuka finally answered, completely ignoring the devastated sophomore.

Jaws instantly dropped to the ground, and every single gaze fixed on the tall bespectacled man for his out-of-character decision. Fuji's smile stretched into an interested grin at the sudden change in their morning routine. Somehow, he knew the small Echizen was good and felt a strong wave of thrill run down his spine at the match that was about to take place.

News spread like wildfire. Before the score reached 5-3 in Tezuka's favour, half of the school's population flooded towards the tennis courts like water following in a stream. The match had been a close one, but Tezuka managed to secure the game with his famous Zero-Shiki drop shot, ending it with a 6-4 score. Echizen knelt down in defeat, sweating and panting and yet his smirk did not leave his face. Some cheered for Tezuka, while others reflected on the mysterious freshman's extraordinary capabilities. Not many could maintain such a long game against Seigaku's number one tennis player. Excluding his 'Wife', the rest could be counted on one single hand.

"Finally, I've found you," Echizen said, fishing a beeping and glowing crystal-black tennis ball from his pocket and holding it in front of Tezuka.

The latter frowned. As far as his memories stretched, he had never heard of Echizen Ryoma before. "I'm sorry but I don't know you," he said bluntly.

"Meet me in the locker room after school," the smaller boy grinned, "and I will make myself known to you."

With that, he disappeared as swiftly as he came crashing down from the sky.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

"Isn't he interesting?" Fuji said at last, breaking the dead silence that hung over the changing room after the day's practice ended. The tension was so strong, it threatened to overcome every single one of them, and the resident prodigy despised that.

"He is so small but he has potential playing tennis, and he even managed to break in the school without notice."

Although still uncertain about the suspicious newcomer, some nodded their approval. Not many were willing to accept the fact that the brat managed to hold a game against the almighty Tezuka. Fuji was the first to accept him. Knowing that Echizen could play well was unimportant to him for he was still a much stronger player whether they seriously faced each other or not.

"He is cute, isn't he?" apparently, Eiji was the second to acknowledge him. "He has those huge golden eyes!"

"He is slightly chubby, but well-toned" Fuji admitted, and chuckled along with the red head.

Tezuka frowned. It was starting to bother him, the way his heart squeezed painfully whenever Fuji decided to show signs of interest in others. He frowned and dismissed his unhealthy thoughts by concentrating on keeping his cold, impassive façade in place. He decided he was going to have that chat with Echizen before he could steal Fuji away.

One by one, the regulars who finished changing exited the locker room, most of them heading for the cafeteria to grab their dinner. Before long, only the Husband and Wife remained in the deserted room. "He is interesting, isn't he?" Fuji smiled.

Tezuka said nothing, feeling an unfamiliar surge of anger taking over his placidity. He quickly settled himself on the bench, looking over his school council works in a desperate attempt to shift his attention elsewhere.

"You're so devoted," Fuji chuckled again before making his way out of the club room. "Don't over-work yourself and return to our dorm in one piece, ne?"

With an abrupt click, the door closed. Tezuka heaved a little sigh of relief before immediately tensing up at the sound of light foot steps approaching.

"Hmm… you guys really do act like newlyweds," Echizen mocked and revealed himself from behind an empty locker.

"What did you want to talk about?" Tezuka asked, changing the subject at once.

Echizen threw him the crystal-black TennisBall he had been holding and Tezuka caught it in a swift motion. He eyed the object questioningly, turning it in his hand and bouncing it once. He was surprised that the crystal ball bounced back up without breaking and directed a querying look towards the small freshman.

"Press the small button on the TennisBall and chant 'Black crystal TennisBall power make up!'" Echizen dared.

"What?"

"Press the button and say 'Black crystal TennisBall power make up!'" he repeated, his immense cat-like eyes laughing.

"Why is that?" Tezuka asked again, slightly baffled yet interested.

"Do it and you will see."

"What if I refuse?"

"Then the Rudolphians are going to take over the world by the end of the week," Echizen said as a matter-of-fact.

"I'm not sure I'm following you," in fact, Tezuka was totally lost.

The freshman sighed, "Just do it already! I'll answer your questions later."

Hesitantly, Tezuka pressed the little button located in the center of the crystal ball, and a sense of pure bliss filled him. His eyes widened as his body started moving on its own. Before he knew it, he had already lifted his hand up and chanted "B- black crystal TennisBall power maaake up!"

A sudden burst of bright light surrounded him and for that fleeting moment, all his pain disappeared. Ignoring the fact that he was immediately stripped from his clothes, he closed his eyes, enjoying the momentary feeling of ecstasy as his glowing body began materializing clothes out of thin air. His school uniform became a fancy, black tuxedo while a red necktie and a tall. Wizard's hat (which was just as dark as his costume) sprouted out of nowhere. An elegant, black cape flowed behind him, its under-half glowed bright red. An accompanying white ball mask, covering his eyes and his rimless spectacles, completed his fancy attire.

When the light faded, his transformation completed. He glared at his new outfit as if it would disappear if he continued killing it with his eyes. When he looked up finally, he saw Echizen down on one knee, his right hand firmly pressed on his chest where his heart rested underneath and his head bowed low. "Welcome back, Millennium King, or should I say, father."

"Pardon me?" to say Tezuka looked stupefied by the transfer of events was quite an understatement. What the hell was happening?

Echizen stood up straight again, his head held high as his eyes gleamed with regard. "Father, I finally found you! We must hurry and defeat the enemy before they take over… and mother! I couldn't find her no matter how hard I tried… I —"

"Echizen!" the smaller one of the two fell silent at once. He never dared disobey his father when he used his commanding voice. "Please explain yourself, Echizen. I am not married and have no children. I guess you are around two years younger than me. It is quite impossible."

"Father, even after the transformation, you do not remember anything?" Echizen's eyes widened. His face betrayed his shock and horror. A deadly silence settled and neither father nor son dared to speak. Finally, after staring at each other unproductively for a minute or two, Echizen sighed and decided he had to explain everything from scratch. "Father, you used to belong— "

"Please do not call me that."

"Fine," Echizen's scowl turned into a pout, "Your majesty the King, you used to belong—"

"Please do not call me that either, it reminds me of Atobe."

Echizen sighed. "You'll be Tezuka-Buchou for the mean time then," he decided speedily, eager to disclose his secrets.

Tezuka nodded his approval.

"You and mother come from the future, known as 'King Millennium' and 'Queen Serenity'. Mother was from the moon and you were the Millennium Prince back on earth. In order to end the war that raged between the Lunarians and the Earthrions, your parents decided to marry you together. At first, it had been successful and the war ceased, but mother had been angry that she couldn't even meet her fiancé, so she came spying on you secretly. When you finally met her, the two of you immediately became close friends and then came the sappy, sugar coated love story with the red cherry on top..." Echizen grimaced, willing the images to go away and stop bothering him. "I think, I'll skip that part."

Tezuka nodded, not sure if he wanted to hear it either

"And when you decided you would go to the moon and live with your beloved in the Celestial Palace, there had been a dispute arising. Never was an Earthrion to set foot on the moon, as humans and Lunarians alike feared it. You were reluctant to let go of the future that lied in front of you and mother though, so you went along with the plan and travelled to the moon. A pact was made to keep the population from rebelling: only the Millennium Prince along with three of his subordinates was allowed access to the moon."

"That's absurd," Tezuka cut him off, "life on the moon is impossible."

Echizen glared at him. "You live in the future, thousands of years away from now. It's only normal things changed."

Tezuka was still not convinced, but decided to go along with the story as logic and common-sense seemed to have dissipated into nothingness.

"Anyway, there was a thick tension on the moon ever since you set foot there, but it vanished after I came to life. But the Earthrions were angry and jealous of your privilege and decided to start another war behind their King's back. When they finally managed a way to land on the moon, they murdered your parents and Mother's as well. That short-lived war had been the worst! Earthrions set fire on the houses of innocents, killed anyone that crossed their paths, turning it into a total massacre. Mother became almost hysterical and decided that drastic measures should be taken. She used all her powers to temporarily stop the flow of time on the moon. After that, she fainted and a crystal glacier surrounded her body. I was only seven at that time. I was no help to her."

For a moment, Tezuka felt sympathy for the struggling freshman. It must have been hard on him to lose both parents at such a young age… wait. Tezuka did not just admit he believed in the boy's words!

Echizen continued with his narrative after composing himself. "Time stopped, and the villagers magically lulled into a deep sleep except for those who possessed strong magical powers; they were unaffected. That would be me, mother and her three sailors, you and your three guardians. One of your guardians read the future and saw that the Yellow Mustard clan from Jupiter was going to invade the moon while it was vulnerable. According to him, the only way to save the moon was for you and mother to fight together. In order to wake mother up, you had to return to the past in order to change the future. You asked help from the Gatekeeper of Time and returned to the past, followed by your three loyal guardians and three of mother's. Your body lied on the floor, lifeless for about a month. When you finally woke up, you told me that only half of your spirit returned to the past and that I must join that half soon. You trained me hard for the upcoming battles, knowing your other half has lost its memories and that I needed to be completely ready to remind you of our mission. That is why we are standing here right now."

Tezuka stayed silent for a moment, still trying to absorb the whole deal. "Where is your mother? What about the other guardians?" he asked, trying his best to understand his future son's words.

"According to Karupin, half of Mother's soul returned to the past as well. Mother," he paused, "is hard to detect. She has tremendous powers, which is why she hides them so well." Echizen declared enviously while taking a deep breath. He glanced at Tezuka before he continued, "She is always eager to win me and make fun of my incapability. I swear to beat her some day at her own game and give her a taste of her own medicine!" he grinned. "As for the other guardians, I can sense their presence. I am sure they are close by."

Tezuka nodded his understanding. "What should I do," he asked while glaring at his outfit, "what is with this costume?"

"Our first mission is to gather the Guardians and the Sailors in order to stop the Rudolphians from taking over earth," he answered, his confidence made it hard to believe he was lying about the whole episode. "As for your costume, mother designed it herself for you after receiving an invitation to attend a costume ball on Earth. It was the only tux you had left after the massacre."

Tezuka frowned. He really wondered who his future wife was, to design such extravagant clothing. It didn't look like something normal women would make. In fact, it somehow reminded him of Fuji. Still, he knew his wife couldn't possibly be Fuji, considering he was a male. Tezuka's heart clenched painfully and for a moment, he imagined himself officially married to the sadistic prodigy. He flushed slightly upon revealing to himself that he wanted his roommate to become his wife and quickly shoved the thought aside.

"How are we supposed to find your mother and the others?" he asked, just so he could take his mind off a particular smiling boy.

"We first have to find their TennisBalls as only they can recognize their master, just like yours did. I stumbled across yours when I was in America, looking for you."

"How do we search for them?"

Echizen shrugged. "Since I can't feel their powers, I think the TennisBalls have fallen in the hands of the enemy. We have to defeat the Rudolphians to retrieve them."

"I see" was all Tezuka managed to say before Echizen quickly silenced him. Night had fallen and they heard the sound of suspicious footsteps coming from outside the clubroom. They stilled, both hoping that the outsider had not heard their secret conversation. Just when it began to fade into silence again, a scream tore through the air and chilled them to the bone. Tezuka froze, recognizing the voice all too well.

"That's them!" Echizen declared, running to the door and swinging it open in a brutal manner.

"Them?" Tezuka asked, following his son out of the safety of the clubroom.

"The Rudolphians' minions!" Echizen sighed in desperation. His father was so damn slow!

They ran towards the tennis courts, and as they cautiously approached, the screaming increased in volume. "Leave me alone!" someone yelled.

"That's Kikumaru's voice," Tezuka told Echizen.

His assumptions confirmed when they saw the redhead tied to a tree with another male's body pressed on top of his. Echizen recognized at once the brown-and-white ensemble of St-Rudolph Academy. "Buchou, that's the Rudolphians' school uniform. It's the enemy!"

The mysterious Rudolphian loomed over Kikumaru, admiring him inch by inch. And then, he threw his head back and laughed in a maniacal manner. "You are quite cute for a male dane!" it said. "I wonder if your blood would taste as good as your smell dane! Are you strong dane? Do you have great powers dane?"

Judging from Kikumaru's facial expression, he was about to explode. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU DANE NYA?!" the acrobatic player finally burst out. "Why are you so annoying with your 'dane, dane' nya?!"

"My name is Yanagisawa dane," the enemy said cockily, his thumb pressed against his chest. "I am a Rudolphian, from St-Rudolph Academy dane. My blood type is A dane, and my favourite food is blood as well dane. My greatest hobby is to play with yellow rubber ducks dane, but I also like playing street tennis dane. And I don't know why you find me annoying dane, but I am not going to let you off because of that dane…"

Tezuka's jaw twitched in exasperation. What the hell was happening?! Wasn't Kikumaru supposed to be scared for his life? And most of all, how could that guy be so freaking irritating dane?! He glanced at his future son, his eyes silently asking for answers. When Echizen failed to notice his distressed signal, he sighed and asked out loud "What is happening here?"

"The Rudolphians gain energy by drinking other's blood." Echizen explained as a matter-of-fact, his eyes never leaving Yanagisawa, "and Kikumaru-senpai moves around a lot so his aroma is sweet and tempting."

The air suddenly dropped by several degrees. Tezuka's expression turned from confusion to outright contempt. Do normal humans suck others' blood for power? Oh, but they were not normal human, his mind corrected him; they were Rudolphians.

"Don't touch me, pervert!!" Eiji screamed, bringing Tezuka's attention back on him.

"But your blood smells so good from your neck dane! Should I take a bite before someone steals you from me dane?" the monster declared. He lowered his head towards the tied-up Kikumaru and bit his neck. The redhead wailed in pain and Tezuka cringed.

Echizen quickly turned to his father. "Now's your time, Buchou! Finish him off while he is unguarded!"

"What?"

"Use your fighting instincts and finish him off!"

Suddenly, something clicked inside him. His eyes widen in horror as once again, his body began moving on its own. His hand grabbed a red rose he held in his black tuxedo and he launched it towards Yanagisawa, missing him by a few inches. The rose landed on the tree right on top of their heads, making the Rudolphian jump back in shock. A gentle breeze blew, messing with Tezuka's hair and making his cloak flow gently aloft the ground. He could almost hear a quiet, background music playing, something like an air of violin. Something inside him burned to be released. Something long forgotten, that was once a part of him that he had lost. He cleared his throat.

"A person with a pure heart is precious! You should be ashamed of yourself for taking advantage of those who spread the message of love!" Tezuka shouted with his deep voice, startling Yanagisawa greatly.

"Who are you dane?"

"I am… I am…" Tezuka hesitated, not sure if he should reveal his real name to the enemy. He quickly shook his head and composed himself. His glasses suddenly glinting under the moonlight, Tezuka pointed menacingly at the enemy. "I am the protector of the Lunarians, and the leader of the Earthrions. Before you, the Millennium King stands. In the name of Love…" fighting over a sudden blush, he quickly composed himself, "I mean, in the name of Tennis, I punish you!"

After the whole deal was over, he was going to kill someone, Tezuka was sure of it. For now though, he will pretend Echizen was not tugging his cap low over his eyes and trying hard not to burst out laughing. He also deeply hoped that Kikumaru had either not recognized him or simply fainted somewhere along the way.

For a moment, Yanagisawa looked at him, unfazed. Tezuka seemed pleased that his mask disallowed others to see his growing blush. The Magical Buchou grabbed Echizen's racket from him and launched his crystal-black TennisBall in the air before smashing it towards the enemy at full force. It was the first move he surmised that would diminish his frustration. With a tumultuous yelp, Yanagisawa fled and a red TennisBall fell on the ground from his pocket.

Echizen grinned hugely at his father, his golden eyes still mocking. "Nice work Buchou, I always knew your instincts were very… strong."

Tezuka glared daggers at him. "What happened to me?"

Echizen shrugged, walking towards his unconscious Kikumaru-senpai to untie him from the tree. When he laid the acrobatic player on the ground, the red TennisBall that had fallen on the grass next to them began beeping and glowing. The freshman grinned.

"Buchou, we found Sailor Kikumaru."

Tezuka looked at him and then glanced at Kikumaru. "So I'm stuck working with him?"

Echizen nodded.

Just the idea of Kikumaru seeing him in his ridiculous costume was giving him a serious migraine. Tezuka sighed and rubbed his throbbing forehead. "I'm taking him to my room. I'm sure Fuji won't mind caring for him."

"You do know that you have to keep this evening's encounter a secret, don't you? We can't risk any outsiders to get involved, not even your 'wife'."

"I know," Tezuka assured him. "And Fuji is not my 'wife'."

"You should stop acting like newlyweds then," Echizen remarked. "Sometimes, he reminds me of my sadistic mother…"

Tezuka massaged his throbbing temple and sighed again in exasperation.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

When Tezuka returned to his dorm room with a sleeping Kikumaru in his arms, Fuji's smile turned evil. At that hellish moment, he could have given anything to vanish from earth to escape his 'wife's' sadistic tendencies. He knew he was going to be questioned mercilessly any minute now. It was coming, he could see it from the way Fuji's expression changed when he laid the redhead on his bed.

"So, are you cheating on me now, Tezuka?"

Oh, there it was. Tezuka's living hell had just begun.

"Apparently, you are not very subtle when keeping a mistress either. I'm not sure if I should be glad or not."

"Fuji…" he warned. Echizen was right. They were acting _way _too much like newlyweds for their own good.

"I thought you were going to complete papers in the clubroom, but apparently you had other plans when I had my back turned, hmm?" Fuji asked in a voice over sweet for comfort.

Tezuka refrained from talking, as he knew anything he would say would only add fuel to the raging fire.

"What did you do to him? Where did you go? Did you take advantage of him? Just spit it out, Tezuka."

"I did not do anything to him. Echizen was there too," Tezuka replied. He was not technically lying; he was just saying part of the truth.

"Oh, so now it's become a threesome with an underage as the uke?" Fuji immediately assumed. "I'm disappointed in you, Tezuka. It is a crime to take advantage of others like that. Am I not satisfying enough for you?"

The bespectacled youth sighed for the nth time that day. No amount of narcotic was going to relieve him from his upcoming migraine. "Fuji, I didn't do anything to him or Echizen, please don't ask me anymore."

Of course, Fuji was not going to leave it at that. He was having too much fun teasing his stoic captain. "It's a shame you had to go to other people to find pleasure when you had everything you could get right here, with me." Slowly, Fuji began pacing towards Tezuka, his smile seducing and sensual. The taller man backed away, only to be sandwiched in between his sadistic wife and the wall. "I'll teach you," Fuji whispered in his ear while unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time, "what pleasure truly is."

"Fuji!" Tezuka could feel heat rushing through his cheeks at their proximity. He groaned when he felt himself harden with need. He could no longer ignore it. He would be damned if he denied it: his 'wife' was truly like a temptress.

To his immense disappointment, Fuji retreated. The honey-haired boy's long bangs covered his eyes, and his shoulders shook. For a moment, Tezuka feared he offended his roommate. He was about to apologize when Fuji chuckled, covering his mouth with his hand. The prodigy tried to stifle his laughs to no avail. Finally, he gave up and burst out laughing.

Dumbfounded, Tezuka stared at him until he calmed down once again. "You… you… you should see your face, Tezuka!" Fuji choked out in between laughing fits. "I would do anything for a camera right now."

Quickly, Tezuka recovered and his stoic mask was back in place. "FUJI!" he reprimanded, trying to ignore his aroused state.

"Sorry, sorry," Fuji mumbled, waving his hand in dismissal. "I'll go to bed now and stop torturing you. Whatever you were doing, it's none of my business. Good night, Tezuka."

With a click, the lights switched off. Tezuka sighed, groping his way to the bathroom in the darkness. Staring down at his erected lower half once alone in the showers, he knew he was in for a long, long night.

~To be Continued~

* * *

**A/N: **Reviews fill my soul! If you have any questions about the plot line, (if it's too vague and all) please do inform me and I will clarify it for you. ^_^ Until next chapter then~


	2. Enter Kikumaru Eiji!

**Title: **Tales of the Magical Buchou [Arc I: The intrusion of the Rudolphians]**  
Pairings: **TezukaxFuji as main. Hints of Golden pair, MomoRyo and InuiKai later on.  
**Rating: **PG-15.**  
Genre: **Romance, Adventure, Drama.**  
****Summary: **Tezuka, along with his new found son are doing their best to gather the sailors in order to fight off the evil Rudolphians. What is Kikumaru's role in all this?**  
Warning: **Crack, nonsense and shameless stupidity ahead!**  
Disclaimer: **If I owned them, Echizen wouldn't be so much of a Mary Sues and Tezuka and Fuji would be celebrating their wedding before the end of the series.

**A/N: VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ.  
**Many thanks to **_thewriterwannabe_** for pointing out one important fact about this story: As maybe some of you have already noticed, **_Vhii1217_** has written a story long ago, entitled '_Seishun Moon_'. If you have read it, I must disclaim myself that even though our two stories have MUCH similarities, I did NOT copy her story as I have not read it before writing this one. Her story has not been updated since 2008 and I have not read any ongoing stories on ff unless it's from a friend. I sincerely apologize in front of everybody to Vhii1217 if this story offends her, but I am convinced I want to finish writing it. It is your choice if you want to read it or not, but I write for the fun of writing and I will definitely not threaten for reviews.

Even though there are many similarities, I do hope this chapter will convince you I did not copy hers in any way. In this story, Karupin will NOT talk and will not have a major role, the Sailors and Guardians will ONE BY ONE find out their respective roles and St-Rudolph will NOT be the only antagonist. Soon enough, Hyotei and the Yellow Mustard clan (Namely: Rikkai) will take a major part in the plot and I am currently debating if I should add any more. There will be NO HINTS, and I mean ABSOLUTELY NO HINTS of Pillar pair because I loathe them enough as it is. .;; They are father and son and that is final.

They attack with their magical TennisBalls. I'm sorry if that sounded really wrong, but the rating is for Teens...

Again, I hope this story offends no one because I did not intend any kind of violation or plagiarism by writing it. I have not copied any story up to date and I do not intend to start now.

(For those who have read my profile page, yes I can be serious as well. No joke.)

And now, without further ado, please read on.

* * *

**~ Tales of the Magical Buchou ~**_  
Chapter two: Enter Kikumaru Eiji! _

He could hear it—the cheerful harmony the early birds sang outside the open window. He could smell it—the fresh morning dew that the breeze brought to his nose. He could almost see it—the sun rising for another day through his closed eyelids. And he could feel it—his stupid big sister trying to shake his aching body awake. He groaned. It wasn't even his turn to make breakfast! Why the hell did he need to wake up so early when there was no school… wait. School?!

"Kikumaru!"

"NO! I'm late for school again!!!" With an impressive start, Kikumaru jumped up from his bed and shoved whatever was gripping his shoulder aside. Scanning his surroundings with wide eyes, he realized that the bedroom was not his own. Just as he was starting to panic seriously, a cough brought him back to reality. Slowly, he turned his head in the direction of the voice, fearing what he would see.

And he simply had a reason to worry because Tezuka Kunimitsu, his stoic, unreadable, heartless, already-married-to-Fujiko, tennis captain was lying on the bed where he once slept. If _that _was not bloody hell scary, Eiji could not image what was. Breathing in deeply, the red head decided it was a reasonable time to scream his lungs out.

"NYAAAAAAA?!"

When he ran out of air, he was slightly panting due to the sudden release of energy. He inhaled again, more than he needed to, ready to kill his vocal chords and distract his mind from forming images he didn't want to see.

Before he had a chance to damage Tezuka's eardrums permanently, a pillow landed on his face, successfully shutting him up. Angry at Tezuka's rashness, he shoved the offending pillow aside and super-pouted in front of his captain. "What was that for?!"

"To keep you quiet," Tezuka answered simply.

Eiji fumed. That heartless captain of his could be unknowingly insensitive! "Well, how would _you _react if you woke up in someone else's bed one peaceful morning, nya?" he counter-attacked. "It's even worse if that person is your married tennis captain!"

"I'm not marrie—"

"Your wife is going to slaughter me, nya! What have you done Tezuka! I don't want to die yet!!!" the acrobat wailed. "Without a doubt Inui would say," he coughed before emulating the data player's deep voice, "_the probability of you surviving Fuji's wrath; minus two hundred percent _nya!_"_

Tezuka sighed. This was definitely going to be a long day. "Kikumaru, Fuji is not going to kill you."

"He will, I swear he will! Fujiko can be very scary and possessive of his belongings nya!"

Tezuka's eyebrow twitched. "I don't belong to him. We haven't done anything so it's unlikely for him to harm you for no re—"

"I'm too young die, Tezuka! It's all your fault I'm going to—" Eiji paused. _Did he hear right just now?_ "…we haven't done anything?"

The bespectacled boy nodded, rubbing his forehead to ease the headache assaulting him. How could Kikumaru be so energetic so early in the morning? "Fuji knows you are here. He even tended to you last night while you had a nightmare. He was the one who shared my bed with you while I slept in his."

"You slept in Fujiko's bed?!" Eiji asked, disbelieving.

Abruptly remembering the previous night's encounter with Fuji, Tezuka's face heated up. He silently cursed the prodigy for making him spend a night with an active and aroused lower body. He cursed his hormones as well, for making him so vulnerable to Fuji's attractiveness.

Quickly deciding that this was not the time and place to think of such things, Tezuka shook his head to clear his thoughts. "That's irreverent," he told Kikumaru.

"Why am I here in the first place?" the red head asked, totally ignoring him.

"Do you not remember?" a different voice chimed, answering his question. The captain and the acrobat turned their heads in sync towards the mysterious voice. There, Echizen Ryoma stood on the window frame with his cat next to him. In a sudden motion, both of them jumped inside the room.

"Ochibi?" Eiji asked, disbelieving. "But… how did you climb up? We are on the eighth floor nya!"

Echizen ignored him, swiftly scanning the room with his huge golden eyes. "I assume Fuji-senpai is out?" he asked, and Tezuka nodded. "When will he come back?"

Tezuka stared outside at the rising sun and shrugged. "He said he was going to take some pictures of the early dawn. You might want to hurry with your explanation considering he might be back at any moment now."

Echizen nodded dutifully. "Let's get this over with quickly... Kikumaru-senpai, catch!" The small freshman threw him a red TennisBall.

Eiji caught the beeping ball in a split second. He prided himself for having the best reflexes among all the regulars, after all.

"Nya?"

Echizen grinned one of his nasty grins. "Press the button in the middle of the red TennisBall and chant 'Red TennisBall Power make up!'" he dared.

Kikumaru blinked twice before curiosity got the best of him. He eyed the red ball with a raised eyebrow and pressed the center button without hesitation. A crimson light flashed, enveloping him at once. Caught off guard, he struggled to see past the blinding light but panicked when he failed miserably.

"Wh-what's happening?"

"Say 'Red TennisBall Power make up' now or you will die! The ball's sudden release of energy is too much for your human body to endure!" Echizen yelled.

"What?! But I'm too young to—"

"Just say it!"

Immediately, Eiji raised the red charm into the air and cried, "Red TennisBall Power maaake up!"

Echizen sighed with relief when his hyperactive senpai began to change. Kikumaru's shirt disappeared, replaced by a white sailor suit. He extended his arms gracefully towards the front and a pair of white gloves materialized and covered his naked hands. The red light then swirled playfully around his feet, covering them with a pair of red ballerina shoes. Finally, a long, red ribbon appeared, adorning his hair on one side and completed his transformation. Slowly, the light around him began to fade. With one hand gently resting on his hip and the other making a 'V' sign before his forehead, Eiji cheered.

"Hoi hoi! Change complete!"

Echizen's grin widened. "Eh, not bad for a first time, Kikumaru-senpai."

At the other side of the room, Tezuka's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. He coughed, trying to bring their attention on him. "Why is he," he stared at the acrobat, "wearing a red _skirt_?"

Eiji blinked. He stared down at his new costume, realizing at once that he was wearing the shortest mini-skirt of the century. For the second time of the day, his wide eyes rivalled the overall size of a saucer. He inhaled deeply, ready to squeal the souls out of Echizen and his captain.

"Ny—," but before he managed to voice his complaints, the little freshman threw a pillow at his face to shut him up.

Echizen smirked at his victory when the red head failed to voice a sound. Tezuka nodded gave him a thumbs-up. "Welcome back, Sailor Kikumaru" Echizen greeted.

Eiji removed the pillow covering his face. "What is a Sailor Kikumaru?" he asked, forgetting about his previous outburst. Or rather, his previous attempt at an outburst.

"A Sailor Kikumaru is a red-headed senpai of mine that suffers from ADHD. (Also known as attention-deficit hyperactive disorder)." Echizen answered, as a matter-of-fact.

"Er… and in Japanese that would mean…?"

Echizen sighed. "You are a Sailor Kikumaru," he said exasperatedly.

"Oh, okay…" There was a slight pause. Eiji needed time to absorb everything he just learned this morning. "HEY!" he shouted when he realized he had just been insulted. "Ochibi, I don't suffer from attention-declick whatever whatever disorder!"

"You do. You just don't realize it."

"That's not how you should treat your senpai! How can I suffer from such a weird-named disease?"

"The name has nothing to do with it Kikumaru-senpai…"

"The point is! I don't suffer from it!" the red head shouted.

"You do." Echizen replied.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do no—"

"TWENTY LAPS ALL OF YOU! NOW!" Tezuka barked, reaching the limit of his patience. What on earth did he do to earn himself such misgivings? He already dreaded working together with Sailor Kikumaru on their mission to save the planet.

Great, he was already starting to sound mentally retarded.

Echizen sighed and began running around his father's room, followed by a whining Eiji. They truly looked like a pathetic trio together. Maybe he could just disappear and leave the Earth to decide its own destiny? Yes, that would undoubtedly save him the time and the embarrassment.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

After they had finished running their assigned laps, Echizen told Kikumaru about his past (or rather, his future).

The Red Sailor was the closest friend his mother had, back when they were on the moon. They had been from their childhood - best friends, classmates, princess and faithful guardian. They trained together, played together, studied together and were inseparable. It was only when the Princess, at the age of seven, was forcefully engaged to an Earthrion that they began to distance themselves. Even though they were still hanging out together most of the times, Princess Serenity became withdrawn and occupied herself with her training to become the next Lunar Queen.

When the Princess decided to go spy on his to-be-husband, the Red Sailor had accompanied her on her journey. When they simultaneously fell in love with Prince Millennium and his Royal Guardian, respectively, the two princesses found a way to retrace their lost friendship. From then on, they had been the duo of mischief in the Celestial Palace, secretly sneaking out whenever they could to spend more time with their friends on Earth. The bloody massacre that had befallen the moon only came much, much later.

"And that is why you are here, as Sailor Kikumaru, to save the moon from apocalypse," Echizen concluded.

Eiji stared at him. He continued to do so for a long moment before he lifted a hand to the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Could you repeat that, nya?"

The freshman's jaw twitched. "That's the fifth time I've told you the story! What can't you understand, Kikumaru-senpai?"

"Er… well, nya, if everything you've said was true… then we come from the future and are here to save the planet from St-Rudolph Academy?"

Echizen nodded eagerly.

"And… Tezuka is your father?"

Echizen frowned slightly but nodded again.

"So that means Buchou made out with an alien, had an offspring, and Fujiko is totally fine with it?"

Tezuka choked and Kikumaru burst out laughing. Echizen stared, annoyed and incredulous as the acrobatic player clutched his stomach and sank to the floor, laughing only harder.

"That's… the most…," Kikumaru panted, "hilarious thing…," a chuckle, "I've heard in a while!" He settled down after a minute or two, using the bed as a support to stand back up.

Echizen pulled down his cap low over his eyes, exasperated. "It wasn't a joke, Kikumaru-senpai."

The statement caught the red head's attention. "It… wasn't?"

"No."

"It… it wasn't…a…" It was all it took to get Kikumaru back on the floor, laughing his head off.

Echizen sighed again. "If that's how you are going to be, then I'm leaving." He barely managed to turn around when Eiji was on his two feet again, clutching his arm in an attempt to keep him still.

"I'll believe you, nya," the acrobat said, his tone uncharacteristically serious, "if you can prove to me that Tezuka is indeed your father."

At once Echzien turned to Tezuka, giving his _that _look. "You know what to do, buchou," he smirked.

"Over my dead body!"

"Kikumaru-senpai transformed in front of you. You should at least return the favour."

"No." Tezuka hissed menacingly.

Echizen managed to stay one step ahead this time. He summoned his Himalayan cat, Karupin, and before Tezuka knew it, the feline had already fished out his crystal-black TennisBall from his pocket and pressed the center button. Once again, Tezuka's eyes widened in horror as a light surrounded him and his body started moving automatically. He willed himself not to pronounce the embarrassing magic words that would begin his transformation, but as the light became thicker, the pain in his chest grew as well from the sudden release of energy.

"Black Crystal TennisBall Power make up!" he chanted, overwhelmed, before his morph began.

Kikumaru's eyes bulged, as a black magician hat settled on Tezuka's head, followed by a white ball mask on his eyes. Then, a formal black tuxedo with a long, flowing cape appeared to complete his change.

When the light faded, Tezuka was glaring daggers at his son while Kikumaru continued gaping at him. A thick silence settled as all three of them were either, too shocked, too pissed, or too indifferent to speak. Eiji was the first one to regain his composure. He bounced around Tezuka excitedly. "I hate to admit it, but you look good in that costume, buchou!" the redhead grinned. "I must tell Fujiko about this!! He will surely be happy to know!"

Oh, Tezuka was sure Fuji would be thrilled to know that he could gain juicy blackmail material. "If you tell Fuji about this, you will be running one hundred laps for the rest of the year everyday," he threatened.

Kikumaru stopped dead in his tracks. "What?! You can't be serious, nya!"

"Keep quiet! Someone's coming," Echizen suddenly ordered, as they heard sounds of footsteps coming their way. The sound amplified, until it came to a halt in front of the bedroom door. "Quick, change back to your normal selves!" Echizen ordered, "Fuji-senpai is back!"

Indeed, there was a metallic shuffle of keys and before long, the doorknob turned, revealing a smiling Fuji on the doorway with a camera hanging around his neck. Tezuka and Kikumaru barely managed to morph back to their usual selves when Fuji entered the room.

"Ah, glad to see you awake, Eiji. How are you feeling?" Fuji asked, and then noticed Echizen was in their room too. "I see we have a visitor. Gomen ne, Echizen-kun, Tezuka can be inconsiderate sometimes. He didn't even bother to prepare tea."

Kikumaru immediately clung to his best friend's neck. "Fujiiii! Where were you, nya?" he wailed overdramatically. "I thought I was going to die of boredom! Stuck with a rock and an ice cube in this room, I hate it!"

Tezuka pushed his glasses up his nose bridge and Echizen pulled at his cap. It was their own ways of portraying their annoyance. Fuji patted Eiji's back and grinned. "There, there… has Tezuka been bullying you again?"

"He made us run twenty laps around the room!" the redhead complained.

Fuji stole a glance at his expressionless roommate and couldn't help a small chuckle from escaping his lips. He never knew his captain could be annoyed to such extent.

Tezuka ignored Fuji's prodding eyes and promptly walked out of the room. He already dreaded morning practice.

~To Be Continued~

* * *

**A/N:** Hopefully, this chapter will do me justice. ^^;; Thank you all for reading and please do leave a review if you can~


	3. Fuji Syuusuke, Ally or Foe?

I'll reserve a little corner here to answer the reviews. ^^

**Wara ningyo:** Thank you so much for your support! Hopefully this chapter will be long enough to fill your needs~

**x..lithium: **Awweee! Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! And yes, I loathe Pillar pair as well... I believe that opposites attract so two ice blocks have nothing to do with each other... which is why Tezuka and Fuji are the epitome of awesomness and Pillar should go to hell. Still, I think Tezuka and Fuji and Echizen would make a wonderful family!  
As for Eiji, I plain love him. XD Tezuka!UST is something you don't see often as well... and I like to think Tezuka is very warm on the inside. And yes, MUCH more TezuFuji in the future, promise.  
IB program sucks. Everyone should know that. XD;;

**melli-elle: **I'm immensely flattered by your comment and it encouraged me a lot because I felt really depressed when someone accused me (gently, nicely, but it still hurt! .) of plagiarism... I've went to read Vihii's story and I felt like mine was so retarded compared to hers... And as wonderfully happy as I am that you like this story, please, I beg you, don't compare our stories as it can be both very offending to her and to me. .;; If you find any mistakes in my fic, and would like to criticise me to death, I would gladly hear you out but poor Vihii-san might not like the fact that I wrote a story like hers despite it wasn't really my fault...  
Ahem. Gomen ne, I must have sounded really harsh... but I am really, immensely flattered to an unbearable extant! You can't even begin to understand how encouraging your words are... I just hope this chapter won't disappoint you! ^^  
As for the Arc 1 thing, I'm still debating if I should add more... for now though, Rudolph's arc will be finished without delay. :D

**AniManGa19930: **Again, I thank you for being so supportive of me... You're like a sunshine, always there to greet me with a wonderful review when I wake up. . *Hugs you to death* Oh oh, can't tell if Fuji's Serenity just yet. XDXD He might just be the enemy! Read on x3!

**MariahGalux: **Thank you so much for your support as well! . Hopefully you like this chapter as much, Mariah-san!

**lachrymosa13blue: **Your comments are always so encouraging... And also, I wanted to thank you for the birthday fic you wrote me! I'm so flattered! Hopefully you will like this chapter as well!

**Love Chronicles: **You're too nice, Tina-chan... . (I can't believe we have the same name XDXD) I don't think the stories are alike as well... but it can't be helped right? I'll just have to disclaim myself from now on. Hopefully you will like this chapter as well!

* * *

**Title:** Tales of the Magical Buchou [Arc I: The intrusion of the Rudolphians]**  
****Rating: **PG-13.**  
Genre: **Romance, Adventure, Drama.**  
Summary: **While Eiji tries to accustom himself with his costume and his new work, Fuji makes a major discovery...**  
IMPORTANT NOTE:** Please note that this chapter is the turning point in the story. NOTHING, I mean, NOTHING in this story is useless information. Every sentence has it's meaning, from the moment Inui decides to introduce his juices to when Echizen decides to stop spying on Tezuka and Fuji. You will understand why in the future chapters so read with care.**  
Disclaimer: **The characters do not belong to me. Sailor moon background either. Tezuka belongs to Fuji and vice-versa and I belong to… er… myself? And this story was NOOOT copied off Vihii1217's '_Seishun Moon_' and I did not intend any kind of plagiarism by it. Please understand.

**A/N: **Remember that Tezuka and Fuji are childhood friends. It's only normal for them to be concerned about each other. They are only sharing a more-or-less platonic friendship as for now and are not yet in love with each other. (Or at least, they don't know it yet.. XD)

Many thanks for LoveFujiTez (over at LJ) for the wonderful beta!!

* * *

**~ Tales of the Magical Buchou ~**_  
Chapter three: Fuji Syuusuke; Ally or Foe?  
_

It was yet another peaceful day at tennis practice. The birds sang, the cicadas chirped, the sun was bright. It was a beautiful morning indeed and… oh dear Kami-sama something was off. Oishi, being the mother hen he is, immediately tried to find out what was amiss. He watched Momoshiro and Kaidoh bicker, and Kawamura trying to stop them amicably until they handed him a racket, and decided that no, there was nothing unusual there. He watched Inui take notes of everyone with a particularly suspicious grin and while holding a glass of greenish liquid. Despite the chill running down his spine, Oishi knew there was nothing wrong (or was it the total opposite?) with Inui either. He noticed Fuji walking towards the data man, a smile on his face and knew there was nothing unusual there.

His eyes then shifted his gaze to his doubles partner, Kikumaru, and noticed that Tezuka was standing unnaturally close to him. He was about to dismiss the thought when he realized that no, not even in his deepest memories did Tezuka follow the acrobat around like he did just now. It was definitely not part of their regular morning routine. Worried, he quickly paced towards them and bowed low in front of his captain.

"I apologize sincerely for what Eiji has done, for you to follow him around. I promise he won't cause such trouble again!" Oishi babbled out.

"Oishi?" Tezuka questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"If it will help you, I will take full responsibility of Eiji and keep an eye on him, I—"

"Oishi," Tezuka interrupted him. "What are you talking about?" At that point, Kikumaru was staring at him too, with wide eyes.

"But… I thought… Eiji… he, I mean…" the vice-captain stuttered incomprehensibly. "What did he do? Why are you following him all over the place?"

A gentle hand rested on his shoulder and Oishi lifted his head up to see the smiling prodigy standing next to him. "It's not Eiji's fault, Oishi," Fuji told him, immensely amused. "Tezuka is having an affair with him."

"WHAT?!" Oishi yelped.

"Fuji!" Tezuka reprimanded. He wasn't cheating! He was just trying to keep an eye on the red-head to prevent him from spilling his secret to Fuji!

"But Tezuka, you can't… I mean, what about your wife?" Oishi panicked.

"Fuji is not—"

"What about your family! Eiji's family! And Fuji's! What about your pride as a man! I mean, I know people can make mistakes in their life, and the path of destiny never did run smooth but you can't make Fuji worry like that! You could at least tell him you loved someone else, get a legal divorce and then go out with the one you love… but even so! It's just too cruel for your wife and your future and…"

Tezuka, despite a humongous effort, could not stop his jaw from twitching. Oishi was taking this 'married couple' thing way too seriously. How could he divorce Fuji when he was never legally married to him? From the corner of his eyes, he could see Eiji and his nicknamed wife muffling their chuckles with their palms, trying their best not to laugh out loud. He sighed as he returned his attention to an immensely anxious Oishi.

"It's against Japan's laws to marry two people at the same time. Even though you are the captain of the tennis club, I seriously doubt that the government will let you share Eiji and Fuji… but then again, they might just make an exception because you are Tezuka. However, I don't think it's proper to love two people at the same time! I know dilemmas are exceptionally hard to solve, even more complicated than the math homework we just handed in a week, three days and fourteen hours ago, but when one makes a choice..."

"Ahem."

Everyone, including Oishi, turned around to the newly arrived member. They all stared at Echizen, still as small and as cocky as he was the day before, but now garbed in Seishun Gakuen's tennis club's regular jersey. He grinned naughtily at everyone's shocked expression.

"From today on, I am a regular and a permanent student of Seishun Gakuen. Yoroshiku," was all he said before lowering his cap and walking to collect the red tennis racket from his bag.

A series of murmurs spread throughout the courts. Their prestigious school has never accepted students after the beginning of the first semester. So how did the small freshman got accepted? Everyone looked at Tezuka, prodding the captain for answers. How could Echizen become a regular without passing the ranking matches? How could he participate in ranking matches if he wasn't a member of the club in the first place? Questions went unanswered as Tezuka maintained his passive façade and remained silent.

It was Kikumaru who recovered first this time. He tackled the shorter freshman from behind and clung to him like a koala bear. "Yoroshiku, Ochibi!"

"Yoroshiku," Fuji said, smiling, and shook hands with Echizen amiably. The latter only nodded his thanks.

Oishi, Kawamura, Inui and Momoshiro instantly joined in, congratulating him for a lack of better things to say. Their questions went unanswered as well, but they decided that it was only polite for the seniors to acknowledge their underclassman. The rest of the club either shifted off to gossip or simply stared at him in disbelief.

When the whole commotion was over, Echizen took the spot next to Kikumaru, who stood next to Tezuka. He whispered to them that Karupin had hypnotic abilities and that the school principal did not hold a chance against his pet's magic. Eiji chuckled gleefully, giving him a thumbs-up while Tezuka was still doubting the world's sanity.

Half an hour into tennis practice, Inui presented one of his newest concoctions - a greenish-black liquid he claimed was vegetable juice. The ones that did not finish running laps within the set timeframe would have to drink a whole glass of it. Those who did drink it, however, either collapsed to the ground or made a mad dash for the bathroom. The regulars were thankful of their strong stamina and fortunately managed to finish in time, therefore escaping the fearful juice's wrath.

Fifteen minutes later, Fuji excused himself from practice, claiming he had a photo shoot session with the photography club. Not long after, Inui left as well, saying that he had a science paper to work on with his classmates.

Peace was back within the club after the sadist and the juice maniac left. Tezuka ordered laps. Eiji wailed. Oishi fussed. Kaidoh hissed while Echizen and Momoshiro continued their game on court A. Tezuka slowly began to feel contented (now that everything was back to normal), then the unusual happened. Again.

"Hey, Echizen! Is that the best you can do?" Momo mocked. He once more returned Echizen's twist serve easily.

"Shut up Momo-senpai!" Echizen hit him another forehand.

"Easy, easy!" Momo readied himself for a powerful return when something caught in his eye, temporarily blinding him. As a result, he tripped on his own foot and fell to the ground. He looked up, watching as purple snowflakes fell from the sky and as one by one, people fell to the ground unconscious. He began to panic when one of the purple substances landed on him, making his world spin. Before long, his eyes closed and he too, fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Echizen watched, dumbfounded as every single member collapsed against the clay courts. Quickly remembering his duty, he ran his way towards the two only people left standing up.

"Buchou! Kikumaru-senpai! Transform now!" he yelled to them.

Tezuka, who was beginning to slump as well, quickly blinked himself awake. He fished out his crystal-black Tennis Ball from his pocket and morphed in an instant. As soon as he was back in Magical Buchou mode, he felt his mind clear from drowsiness. Kikumaru followed soon after.

"What happened?" they asked Echizen in unison once they were fully clad in their new battle uniforms.

"It's a sleeping powder the Rudolphians use to keep their blood-sucking activities away from human eye. Those that have no magic power faint in an instant; the gay-ish purple is too blinding for their human eyes to handle."

"What about me and Buchou nya?"

"Your powers are hidden inside your TennisBalls. If you don't transform, you are as useless as those humans."

Suddenly, someone's maniacal laughter resounded, chilling the magical trio to the bones. They looked around nervously, trying to find the source of merriment. Eiji was first to notice a shadow hiding behind the huge sakura tree next to the courts. "It's him again, nya!" the redhead wailed, pointing in the general direction of the partially hidden Rudolphian.

"I see you remember me dane." Yanagisawa grinned proudly. He revealed himself from the shadows and paced towards them dangerously. "I am honoured."

"It's that DANE DUCK again!" Eiji cried.

Said man tripped and connected with the floor. "IT'S YANAGISAWA DANE!" he screamed.

Eiji paid him no heed. "Ochibiii!" he wailed. "What can I do to make him go away nya? He creeps me out!"

Echizen handed him his red racket without a word and motioned for him to hit the Rudolphian with it. Eiji nodded dutifully and launched his racket at full force towards Yanagisawa. Echizen sweat dropped when the racket missed its target by three meters. He sighed, deciding that playing the unperturbed, silent rookie with his Kikumaru-senpai was a lousy idea. "I meant, hit him with your TennisBall, not with the racket, senpai," he said exasperatedly.

"Oh…" Eiji grinned sheepishly, bringing a hand to the back of his head. "Oops."

Tezuka resisted the urge to slap himself in the face. What a pathetic trio they made! For a moment, he wondered if he could just walk away and pretend nothing ever happened… it would definitely save him some time and much embarrassment.

Echizen once again handed a racket to Kikumaru, this time making sure the redhead knew what to do. Kikumaru launched his red TennisBall in the air and served it towards Yanagisawa. "Take this, Dane Duck! Kikumaru beam!"

Yanagisawa grinned again. "I won't make the same mistake like the last time dane!"

With a clap of his hands, a monster appeared before him, successfully shielding him from Kikumaru's TennisBall. An explosion occurred as Kikumaru's ball connected with the monster's body, creating a thick, grey fog. Tezuka used his black cape to shield his eyes from the flying dirt while Kikumaru sneezed and coughed and rubbed his eyes from lack of protection. When the smog cleared, a gigantic yellow rubber duck (as tall as half a Sakura tree) with an orange beak greeted them. Yanagisawa sneezed disgracefully for one last time before patting his monster's wing proudly.

"This," he said, pointing at his rubber duck haughtily, "is my ultimate master piece dane! His name is DaneDane."

Tezuka's jaw twitched in annoyance. Kikumaru rolled his eyes. Echizen wondered if this could get any duller.

"DaneDane can protect me from anything, right, DaneDane, dane?"

The duck squeaked. "Dane!" it said.

Sailor Kikumaru was on the verge of fainting. Not only did his Kikumaru beam miss, but the 'dane' fixation increased threefold since the day before! His eyes glittered with unshed tears, unable to take this any longer. "Do something, Ochibi! Make him stop saying dane before I become insane dane!" Eiji gasped. "SEE?! Now it has taken possession of my brain dane! I can't even say 'nya' anymore!!" he wailed.

Echizen was faring no better. At a lost, he sent a glare towards his future father, urging him to do something about either Yanagisawa, or Kikumaru-senpai.

Just then, a more familiar voice caught their attention.

"What happened here?" it questioned.

The magical trio turned to see Fuji standing amidst the horde of people lying unconsciously on the floor. Immediately, Echizen detached himself from Kikumaru and stretched his arms to protect his two upperclassmen. "Who are you?!" he demanded.

"Echizen-kun?" Fuji asked innocently. "What happened?"

"Don't fool around with me!" Echizen yelled uncharacteristically. "If you are not asleep, then it means you are either our enemy or our ally. You are no normal human!"

Fuji blinked, his smile disappeared from his face and his blue eyes fully open. "I don't understand what you mean…" the prodigy said, his voice did not betray anything he was hiding underneath.

"Who are you?! Answer now!" Echizen screamed on top of his lungs, making sure that the message he was delivering was clear; he was not joking around. _Answer or I'll force it out of you._

"Enough!"

Startled, the freshman turned around to see his father walking calmly towards Fuji. He was about to protest when Tezuka silenced him again with a glare from behind his white ball mask. "What are you doing here, Fuji? Aren't you supposed to be at a photo shoot session?"

The prodigy immediately backed away. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" he whispered menacingly, unable to recognize his childhood friend clad in his Tuxedo Mask costume. His icy blue eyes were glaring right at the Magical Buchou.

"Karupin, get my father back here, now!" Echizen commanded. "He's our enemy!"

The feline meowed but before anyone had the time to move, Yanagisawa had already positioned himself behind Fuji, one arm around the captive's throat and his mouth centimetres away from his exposed neck. He inhaled Fuji's scent and licked his lips with relish. "Mmm… your blood smells really good even from afar dane," he said huskily, running his tongue over Fuji's naked skin. "Why have I never noticed it, dane? You might just be the best meal I've had in some while, dane."

Fuji tried to push him away but the Rudolphian's grip on his throat became suffocating as he struggled. "Let… go…" Fuji gasped for air.

"Ah, sorry, can't do that, dane. I want to savour you fully dane." He inhaled again, closing his eyes in pure bliss before launching his teeth into Fuji's white neck skin. The prodigy did not voice his pain, only struggled harder to be freed.

"Oh dear, if you keep bucking your hips like that, I'll become hard and you will be forced to spend the night with me dane."

Tezuka saw crimson blood drip from Yanagisawa's teeth to Fuji's shirt, and for a moment, he felt his heart clench painfully at the sight. Hate, agony, disgust, jealousy, all those emotions flashed across his glaring hazel eyes in an instant. Once again, his body exploited his moment of weakness to begin moving on autopilot. He reached for another red rose from under his black tux and threw it towards the Rudolphian. Yanagisawa yelped when the flower's thorns lashed his cheek open and violently stumbled backward. Fuji fell to his knee, one hand clutching his wounded neck while the other pressed on the ground to keep himself from falling.

Tezuka hastily picked his 'wife' up bridal-style and brought him to Sailor Kikumaru. "Take care of him," he told the redhead and Eiji nodded. Echizen watched disapprovingly. He glared one last time at Fuji before joining his father in the battle against the Rudolphian.

"Taking advantage of people like you just did is unforgivable!" Tezuka pointed menacingly at Yanagisawa. "In the name of Tennis, I, Millennium King shall punish you!"

The Rudolphian scoffed. "Do whatever you want dane, but I will not go until I've drank every drop of that human blood! It's the most delicious I've every tasted yet, dane!"

Again, Tezuka felt enraged. How dare he talk about Fuji as if he was some kind of luxurious food? "If you dare lay a hand on Fuji," he said, his voice low and menacing, "I'll make you regret every drop of blood you took away from him."

"Punish me after I've drank to my heart's content, dane!" That said the Rudolphian launched himself towards where Fuji and Eiji were, eyes clouded with lust and desire.

"Now's your time, Buchou!" Echizen yelled.

Without further delay, Tezuka launched his own black TennisBall in the air and hit it towards Yanagisawa. The ball was about to hit its target when DaneDane, the yellow rubber duck shielded Yanagisawa. Tezuka, with his jealousy reaching an unbearable degree, poured all his frustrations into his finishing move. Unleashing his anger with his powerful serve, he hit the magical orb so hard and the minute it collided with DaneDane, the duck exploded. The previously injured anatidae had no chance against a second magical blow.

A grey TennisBall flew into Kikumaru's hands after the monster's defeat and the redhead decided to keep it in his skirt pocket for the mean time. Immediately, he went back to tending to Fuji.

Yanagisawa stopped dead in his tracks now that his back-up monster was no longer there to defend him. He gritted his teeth in frustration. "How dare you kill DaneDane, dane?! You will pay next time, dane!" With another clap of his hands, Yanagisawa disappeared into thin air.

After the Rudolphian's retreat, one by one, the sleepy students moaned as they slowly awakened from their drowsed state. Tezuka and Kikumaru quickly transformed back to their former selves while the rest were still half-conscious. The captain ended practice early and, along with the acrobat, the freshman and the prodigy, retreated to his room.

"I demand an explanation, Tezuka," was the first thing Fuji said after slamming the door shut. He had recovered from his blood loss amazingly fast.

At a lost, the husband kept quiet. Exasperated, Fuji shifted his gaze to his best friend. When, even the redhead failed to look up, the prodigy glared at Echizen. "I demand an explanation," he said again.

Echizen shrugged, picking his cat up from the floor and handing it to Fuji. "Ask Karupin, he will tell you everything, senpai."

"Do not mock me when I'm in a foul mood, Echizen," Fuji snapped, his icy blues open.

"I am not. Ask Karupin," the freshman said again, nonchalantly.

Hesitantly, Fuji stared at the feline, waiting for information. Before he knew it, he could no longer shift his eyes away from the kitty's brown orbs. His head began to hurt, the world spun… Fuji snapped his eyes shut and brought both hands to his throbbing forehead. Within a minute, he fell to the floor.

Horrified, Tezuka and Kikumaru were by his side in a nanosecond. "What have you done to him nya?!" Kikumaru demanded.

Tezuka checked his childhood friend's pulse and gladly realized he was still alive. As soon as the tennis captain regained his composure, he glared daggers at the freshman. "What did you do to Fuji?" he demanded, trying his best to keep his murderous intents at bay.

Echizen shrugged as if nothing was wrong. Tezuka seriously contemplated the option of dropping him from the regulars and getting him expelled from the school. He quickly shook his head and composed himself. If Echizen truly was his future son, then he undoubtedly had something up his sleeve. "Echizen, talk," he commanded, knowing his son could not disobey him when he used such a stern tone.

Indeed, the freshman flinched and gritted his teeth. "Karupin erased his memories," he spat out. "I told you he had hypnotic abilities already."

"He what?! Nya! How could you do that to Fujiko!"

Echizen glared at him. "Karupin only locked away a part of his memory!" he defended his pet. "Fuji-senpai remembers everything until when he came back from the photo shoot session. That is all."

Even if it was just that, Tezuka felt betrayed. He had promised his son not to tell Fuji about their true identities despite the fact that he hated keeping secrets from the genius. He somehow felt relieved when Fuji did not laugh at him for his ridiculous costume when he found out and even contemplated letting him help them on their mission. He closed his eyes in frustration. They were, once again, back to square one.

Echizen sensed his father's anger and wisely decided to distance himself until he has cooled down. "Don't be fooled by him, father, he is our enemy," he warned one last time before pulling his cap low over his eyes and escaping through the window.

Tezuka sighed and carried a limp Fuji to his bed. He pulled the covers over the prodigy and sat next to him. He noticed Kikumaru was still frozen in place and cleared his throat to get his attention. The acrobat turned to him at once.

"Go back to class, Kikumaru, I'll take care of Fuji."

Not sure what to do, Eiji simply nodded and walked out of the room. Once outside, he sighed, knowing that he could not go whine to Oishi about the whole deal. His eyes widened in horror as he noticed they had no class together for the whole day! Even tennis practice was postponed! Kikumaru's spirit dropped drastically. He wondered if he was going to make it through the whole day without his best friend and his partner.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

"How could you fail me twice in a row?!" the voice demanded.

"I'm sorry Mizuki-sama dane!" Yanagisawa yelped. He knelt down in shame and kept his head low.

"Where is the grey TennisBall? You did not lose it again did you?"

The Rudolphian kept silent.

"PATHETIC FOOL!"

"I'm sorry Mizuki-sama, dane!" Yanagisawa apologized again. "But I have valuable information! Please, hear me out dane!"

Seated on the mighty throne admist nothing but gay-purpul-ness and pink roses, the head of the Rudolphians twirled a strand of his hair anxiously around his index finger. "If it is worth it, I will save you the punishment. Speak, weakling!"

"Fu—I think his name was Fuji Syuusuke dane. He's a human and his blood is—"

"HIS NAME IS WHAT?!" Mizuki asked.

"Fuji… Syuusuke… dane…"

The leader of the Rudolphians briskly stood up from his throne. "Fuji… Syuusuke…" he spat. "Nfu. Finally, I've found him, my eternal rival. Good work, Yanagisawa."

Ecstatic at being praised for once, the annoying Rudolphian leapt up. "Does that mean I can go get revenge, dane?"

"No!" Mizuki screamed at him. "Fool! From hereon, you will seat out and train twice as hard. Send in Kisarazu Atsushi, now!"

Yanagisawa shook with fear and obeyed immediately.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

Fuji moaned. His head hurts, his body ached, and he felt dizzy. He shut his eyes tightly and snuggled closer to the source of warmth beside him. When said warm body tensed up, Fuji finally found the courage to crack open an eyelid and see who it was. To his surprise, it wasn't Kikumaru, but Tezuka by his side. "Tezuka?" he asked softly. "What happened?"

The taller man flinched now that he was sure that Fuji had lost his memories. Tezuka checked the clock on the nightstand and told him he had passed out after his photoshoot session exactly one hour ago. Fuji groaned as another headache assaulted him. He pulled his childhood friend under the covers with him and used his shoulder as a pillow. He wrapped both arms and legs around Tezuka and closed his eyes once again, willing sleep to take over.

"Fuji," the captain warned.

"It's fine, isn't it? We used to sleep like this every night when we were young," the genius pouted. "It's been so long since we've done it. You refused to share a bed with me ever since we entered junior high."

Hesitantly, Tezuka snaked his arms around Fuji's waist to comfort him. It was true as crystal clear as Fuji's own cerulean eyes, that Tezuka has missed their childhood innocence as well. He wished dearly that he could embrace the prodigy so naturally and so innocently, like he constantly did when they were still young. He willed his teenage hormones to stop getting in the way for once…

He stroked Fuji's sandy brown hair, earning satisfied moans from the prodigy. His expression softened, remembering how they used to snuggle in bed every winter night. When was the last time he had held Fuji so close? He could no longer recall. Still, the feeling of pure comfort and satisfaction remained the same over the years. Fuji pulled him closer, burying his face in Tezuka's broad chest. The taller man blushed, tensing up again at the sudden movement. He sighed as his hormones were starting to wake up to taunt him.

Closing his eyes, Tezuka tried to busy his mind with something else. He thought of those halcyon days when he and Fuji would do everything together, from playing to studying to sharing the same bed. Slowly, he too began to feel sluggish. Tezuka lets out one last indistinguishable smile before drifting away. Only this once, he will allow himself to loosen up and feed his heart to the brim.

Echizen watched his father and Fuji-senpai closely hidden on the other side of the window. Perhaps the prodigy wasn't much of a threat after all. Even if he could feel the strong magic Fuji possessed, his senpai's frail body could not handle it all. Perhaps he was weak, unable to protect himself from a Rudolphian, unable even, to unleash his magic. As long as he could erase Fuji-senpai's memories, he and his father had nothing to fear.

With a shrug, Echizen returned to his dorm room followed by his cat.

Soon, another day drifted by.

~To be Continued~

* * *

**A/N: **Please note that this chapter is the turning point in the story. NOTHING, I mean, NOTHING in this story is useless information. Every sentence has it's meaning, from the moment Inui introduces his juices to when Echizen decides to stop spying on Tezuka and Fuji. You will understand why in the future chapters so hopefully you read with care.

Hopefully this chapter was long enough to fill in for the lateness! Please to share your thoughts on this! If you don't understand anything, don't hesitate to pm me or review. ^^

(And no, I can't go one single chapter without Tezuka Fuji fluff.)


	4. The Foreseer and the Recollection Ritual

Review replies here~~ ^^ If you need any kind of enlightenment for the plot, do ask!

**x..lithium: **(I know your username only has one dot in it, but ff automatically corrects it when there is only one dot and your name becomes '**x:**'... I don't know why! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!) The praise is too muuuch! I think I'm going to go in a corner and hide and blush. But thank you soo soo much! I figure Oishi is worrying too much here... haha but I guess he turned out okay. As for Protective!Magical Buchou Tezuka, I plain love him, buahaha. Echizen... personally, I don't like Echizen either, he's always winning. I try not to make him too OOC, but trust me, he will not be beating Yukimura just because he found out he enjoyed playing tennis in the middle of a game he clearly was supposed to lose... (Though this is a crack fic, no nonesense will be tolerated! XDDD) Hopefully this chapter will entertain you as well!

**melli-elle: **I love review-replies as well! x3 They are always so... personal and it makes the reader and the author so happy!  
I understand what you mean... I had no intention of copying anything... but hey, it doesn't hurt to disclaim myself, does it? XD I guess the plot just got to me one day when a friend was rambling about Sailor Moon and I thought it would be so cool to have it with some kind of Prince of Tennis twisted plot or something. XD;;  
ROFL! I saw, I saw! The Chinese drama was... wow. Seriously. Thought Yuuta didn't look very cute in it, Fuji wearing a PINK SHIRT was epic win! XD And Tezuka hugging him was EPIC WIN NUMBER 2! And Fuji being the same height as Tezuka was just plain hilarious! As for Mizuki, I can't deny he doesn't look good. XD  
No worries, now. DaneDane will be back! Mizuki will soon come on stage as well. Fear it! As for DaneDane, I'm not so sure if it means dude... but if it does, it makes it all the funnier! XDDD

**wara ningyo: **Well, Tezuka was just going to kill Yanagisawa for licking HIS wife, dane. Yes, I know, the Rudolphian syndrome gets to you... soon, it will take over your braaain! Fear Yanagisawa and his gigantic yellow rubber duck! XDD  
I'm so glad you liked it! Hopefully this chapter won't disappoint you!

**AniManGa19930: **Glad you liked TezuFujii fluffness~ I can't pass a chapter without them snugging! XD;; As for Yuuta.... I can't reveal anything about him yet! And Fuji has a good role in the story too... hmm, you will find out soon enough! ^___^ Thank you so much for all your support! *snugs to death*  
Ahaha, the time-zone can be quite annoying. But I love to read your comments in the morning. It's really refreshing and encouraging! Please don't stop writing you too!

**BleuFleur: **I love long reviews! Thank you so much for the detailed one you gave me! ::Tears of joy::  
It was on your birthday? Happy birthday! I'm so glad you liked it... You can't believe how much your encouragement means to me! The next chapter shall be dedicated to you then, as a late birthday present.  
As for Mizuki, I'm sure everyone knows he is responsible for the gay-purple snowflakes. XD (I'm so glad someone noticed that detail! All hail Mizuki's gayness~) And eventually, he will have a big role in this story. I can't reveal too much about him right now though! Please forgive me!  
Oh noes, am I so obvious with the hints? I guess I'm blatanly obvious with the TezukaFuji though... hehe. But I still can't promise anything for the future... so Serenity might just not be the one you think! (But really, this chapter practically gives me out... Anyhow, stay tuned!)  
Your comment was more than enough. I don't write for reviews, I do it for fun. Though a little encouragement here and there could help, I will definitely not stop uploading because people stopped commenting. Thank you so so much for the huge praise! Hopefully this chapter will be entertaining as well!

**Sileny: **XDXDXD I often have that reaction as well! "Just who the hell came up with such a lame idea?!" I asked myself, and then the answer came: "Myself!" I find it really funny somehow...  
Eiji is so cute. He's my second fave character after TezukaFuji. (They are both first place because one can't exist without the other). I just hope he isnt' too hyper or too OOC here! Hurray for Eiji!  
I think little hints of golden pair is cute! Huge doses kinda become a little... sappy, but Golden is really fun. Oishi is really a worrywart at heart, there is no denying. ^___^  
Whyyyy?! Am I so blatanly obvious with all my characters? T___T Oishi's identity is revealed in this chapter. (I think I'll work on the subtlety a little more if everyone guesses who the character are... sighs)  
Oh, and one last thing, Yanagisawa loves gigantic rubber duckies~~~ DaneDaneDaneDaaaane.

**animeannie: **Thank you sooo much! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you~ Thank you for supporting me, like always!

**xad: **Nooo why don't you like Sailor Moon? I think that it's epic win when it's mixed with prince of tennis! XD But thank you so so much for the comment! Hopefully you like this chapter as well!

**Iamme: **Thank you so much for the praise! Hopefully you will like this chapter as well!

**yoshikochan: **Nooooooooes! ::goes off hiding in a corner, blushing:: That was too much of a praise, I don't know what to say...! ::Hides::

**shourin: **Thank you so much! Chapter four is up~

**LoveChronicles: **Thank you, my twin. Hopefully you like chapter four as well! Unfortunately, Dane Yanagisawa is done for now. He will be back soon though, I promise~

**lovefujitez: **Junn-saaaan! ::Hugs to death:: You are the best beta on earth, do you know that? And currently, I'm really really busy... so I will update the chapters on Lj as soon as I can. I have a day off this friday, I will take all the time to write, alright? Gomen ne!  
And noooo! I'm going to go off into hiding again! That was too muchhh... here I only write for the fun of it, I don't really... aaargh! :Goes hiding:  
Oh, by the way, this chapter is dedicated to you, for always supporting me and being such a nice beta. (The world's best!)

**lachrymosa13blue: **Is internet going better? Thank you for the praise! This chapter is dedicated to you, because muses are currently still sleeping right? Do write soon! I can't wait for more fics from you!

And now, without further ado, I give you chappie four of Tales of the Magical Buchou!

**

* * *

Title:** Tales of the Magical Buchou [Arc I: The intrusion of the Rudolphians]**  
Rating: **PG-13.**  
Genre: **Romance, Adventure, Drama.**  
Summary: **Enter the first Guardian! Please welcome the foreseer!**  
Warning: **Flood of Flashback. Relatively serious chapter… or not?**  
Disclaimer: **The idea is mine… it's too bad I don't own any character from Prince of Tennis, or the Sailor Moon references. This is not a copy off Vihii1217's '_Seishun Moon_' for I did not violate any laws of plagiarism by writing it. Please understand.  
After writing it, I noticed how Oishi looked so much like those mages in Harry Potter… but I didn't even think about it when I wrote it. XD;; I don't own Harry either though.

**ATTENTION, PART TIME BETA FOR THIS STORY NEEDED! **This ficclet is in need of a part-time beta~ Is anyone willing to beta for me? Because Lovefujitez, the best beta in the world, is currently very very busy with work and I'm too shy to ask her to beta one chapter of around 5000 words every single week... I would love if someone could switch with here, working on a chapter each every two weeks...? Pretty please? I'm not exigent, really, just desperately want to take some unecessary burden off Lovefujitez, because she is so sweet to always accept my requests even though she is very busy... Please leave me a message at chibikaoruchan at gmail dot com. Thank you so much!

Therefore, this chapter was not beta-ed.

**A/N: **Major plot advancement. Beware.

This chapter is dedicated to my loyal Beta, LoveFujiTez because she is being really busy right now, and to Lachrymosa because she misses her muses and because she has been such a good friend to me! Happy reading guys!

* * *

**~ Tales of the Magical Buchou ~**_  
Chapter four: The Foreseer and the Recollection Ritual_

_It was a large bedroom, with a meticulous king-sized bed in the middle and a small window on the side. The place was tidy and organized, overly-lit from the inside. A wooden drawer figured beside the bed, with two silver rings silently resting on its surface. On the table adjacent to the previous one lied a glowing egg that was ten times bigger than those laid by hens, protected by a thick crystal barrier and warmed from the source of light above. The room was warm, welcoming even, despite its numerous oddities._

_Next to the single open window stood a woman._

_The strong, crystalline light that penetrated the room greatly blurred her profile. She wasn't very tall, but even from afar one could describe her as alluring. She pressed both her naked arms to the windowsill, and with eyes well camouflaged behind thick eyelashes, she seemed to be scrutinizing out the window. The off-white curtains that floated to the wind prevented one from perfectly grasping the shape of her delicate body; yet, one could flawlessly imagine the pale skin that lied beneath her majestic robe. Then, she turned around, making her short honey-brown hair flow elegantly aloft her delicate shoulders from the sudden movement. A breathtaking smile broke from her moist lips when she recognized her visitor._

"_I did not notice you there, Foreseer," her mellifluous voice echoed throughout the room._

"_I… Please forgive my rudeness, madam, but who…"_

_Her chuckle was even more melodious than a million tinkle bells reunited. "What are you talking about? Have you not awaken yet? I told you not to be so formal around me; it's not necessary. You are, after all, our loyal beep…"_

"_I beg your pardon?"_

"_Beep, beep, beep…"_

BIBEEP, BIBEEP, BIBIBIBEEP, BIBIBIBEEP!

"AH!!!" Oishi practically jumped out of bed screaming. He panted, gradually recovering his consciousness while the after-effects of a good night's dream faded away. He pressed one hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, trying to remember his most unusual dream. He tried to fish out from his deepest memories who the picture of an elegant lady clad in a white dress could belong to. No woman he knew could fit the image though; he had known no one as breathtaking as that one he just saw in a dream. Who was she…?

"MOU!! Oishi, please turn off the alarm! I'm trying to sleep here, nya!"

It was only then the vice captain of the tennis club remembered the dorm room he shared with his doubles partner, Kikumaru Eiji. He hurriedly turned off his alarm clock and apologized to the red-head that was already fast asleep. He sighed, deciding that worrying too much over a simple dream was unhealthy. The clock showed it was 6:25 AM and he headed towards the bathroom knowing that sleep had completely eluded him.

Half an hour later, Oishi entered the school cafeteria, eagerly picking up his breakfast. Food tray in hand, he spotted Tezuka eating alone in a seduced area of the lunch court and swiftly settled himself in front of his captain. "Good morning, Tezuka. Is Fuji not with you today?" he asked, flashing a bright smile at the taller youth.

"Ah," was the monosyllable the bespectacled man provided him.

Oishi smiled uneasily. 'Ah' could mean anything from negative to positive! Was Tezuka feeling unwell? Did he quarrel with Fuji last night? Why did he seem so pissed off? It was around seven o'clock in the morning and already Oishi was already worrying. No wait, it was six twenty five some time ago and Oishi had already been worrying then. The mother hen sighed. It really wasn't doing any good to his mental health. He had to get it out of his system or else… "What's wrong Tezu—"

"NYA!!! Oishi you meannieeee!" his roommate wailed, promptly interrupting him mid-sentence. "You left without me! How could you, nya! I'm your partner!"

Oishi turned his head in the direction of the voice, and was surprised that his partner was already awake so early. He saw the red-head pacing towards him, his expression not as jovial as it was the last time he saw it. "Sorry, sorry, you were still sleeping when I left so I thought I shouldn't wake you up," he muttered.

Kikumaru super pouted. He put his own tray of food down on Oishi and Tezuka's table none so gently and brought both hands to his hips. "Fujiko waited for me and he isn't even sharing the same room!" he reprimanded.

Oishi spotted Fuji's golden-brown hair from behind Kikumaru's shoulder and apologized again to his partner. He stole a glance towards Tezuka, seeing his captain shifting to the side to leave an empty space next to him for Fuji to sit in. He smiled, realizing that Tezuka had always reserved an exclusive place on his left for his childhood friend to settle in. He did the same, patting the seat next to him to catch Kikumaru's attention. Automatically, his partner's eyes lit up with childish gleefulness. Eiji left him no time to react; he tackled him in a warm bear hug, his previous outburst gone and forgotten.

It was then Oishi heard a loud beeping coming from his partner's uniform pocket. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what on earth it could be that screeched so loudly. "Hum… I think it's coming from you, Eiji…"

Tezuka and Fuji continued eating, albeit keeping a watchful eye on them. Kikumaru ignored them, fondling with his pocket to get the loud instrument out. _He couldn't have kept his alarm clock in his pants, could he?_ Oishi thought but quickly shoved the idea aside. There was no way Eiji's bear-shaped alarm clock could fit in his uniform pocket. After all, why would he even want to keep it on him?

"There it is!!" Kikumaru shouted. A grey TennisBall rested in his hand. The suspicious object glowed, beeping only louder as it came closer to Oishi.

In the blink of an eye, Echizen materialized before them. "Come with me, Oishi-senpai, Kikumaru-senpai!" he ordered and, without letting any time for his upperclassmen to react, pulled both of them towards the exit. The canteen fell silent and many students that were present that morning stared at them curiously for a minute or two before resuming their own conversations. When the noise went up again, the trio had already disappeared from sight.

Tezuka stood up at once, preparing to follow them when a hand grabbed his sleeve to prevent him from leaving. "Where are they going, Tezuka?" Fuji asked, his blue eyes open and inquiring. His ever-present smile was gone from his distressed face.

"Stay here," was all Tezuka said before shrugging free from the prodigy's grasp and running after the trio.

Fuji stared at his retreating form, his open eyes void of emotion. He resumed eating alone, a bitter smile stretched across his face. He did not notice when exactly the gay-purple snowflakes began falling from the ceiling.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

The first thing Echizen did when he was sure they were alone on the rooftop was to snatch the grey TennisBall away from his red-headed senpai. Kikumaru gave a surprised yelp but did not protest after that. Tezuka joined them soon after, making sure the door was well locked behind him. He nodded to his future son, urging him to start the explanation. Without wasting time, Echizen handed the beeping object to a very, very confused Oishi-senpai, daring him to pronounce the four magic words.

"I'm supposed to say _what_?" Seigaku's nicknamed mother asked, disbelieving.

"Grey TennisBall power make up!" Echizen repeated.

"But that's five words!" Oishi protested.

Echizen growled. "Just press the center button and say it!"

"B-but why?" Oishi asked, blushing slightly. He did not know if Echizen was being serious or if he was just being mocked. He looked at Kikumaru –who was watching him with eager eyes– and blushed, quickly averting his gaze. How could he say such an embarrassing thing in front of his partner? He then stole a glance towards Tezuka, who didn't seem perturbed by the sudden turn of events in the least.

Echizen sighed, deciding that he had to use a different tactic when approaching the vice captain. He grinned as an idea hit him. He cleared his throat to catch his upperclassmen's attention. "You have to do it, Oishi-senpai, if you don't want the earth to end up in the hands of the evil Rudolphians. And when the Rudolphians take over humanity, they will kill all those stray cats you have been secretly nursing, torture them, and then burn them to ashes."

"WHAT! But that is inhuman! How can they—"

"Which is why," Echizen cut him, "you need to press the center button of that TennisBall and say the magic words to save the planet."

"But the kitties…" Oishi began.

"DO IT!" Echizen yelled.

This time, Oishi did as he was told without hesitation. After all, the lives of innocent stray cats were in his hands. (He forgot that the lives of many humans were also at stake, but his one-way mind could not exactly process the gravity of the situation just yet. Fear the Rudolphians' complicatedness.) Oishi lifted his grey TennisBall in the air and pressed the center button. "G-grey TennisBall power… er… make up, was it?"

An explosion occurred. Oishi's grey TennisBall began releasing a thick, grey fog that slowly but surely enveloped him. Echizen sighed. He had never thought that his job of gathering the Sailor and Guardian Fighters could be such a pain in the ass. A good half minute later, the fog began dissipating. Echizen had to scrutinize to see past the grey clouds.

"H-hum… guys, I'm not sure what happened but…" Oishi's silhouette became clearer as he approached his friends. He was clad in a grey hermit cloak, with a pointed hood and a shoulder cape. He had no mask and no necktie but a long wizard hat rested on his head. He carried in his left arm a glass Foreseer's ball (it was his grey TennisBall that had grown bigger in size and more translucent in color) and held in his hand an irregular wooden cane. His facial expression betrayed his uneasiness.

Tezuka remained expressionless while Kikumaru gaped at him. Echizen bowed slightly to him, a welcoming smile replaced his previous nasty grin. "Welcome back, Foreseer."

Oishi blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry…?"

Eiji pounced on him and patted his back comfortingly. "Now then, partner, ready for the big tale, nya?" the acrobat snickered playfully at Oishi's lost expression.

"Hum… I'm not sure where this is going… but I guess you have a lot of explaining to do," the vice captain glanced at the mysterious freshman suspiciously.

Echizen took a deep breath, preparing himself for the long speech that he had to furnish. "Tezuka-buchou there," he began, pointing at said person, "is my future father, King Millennium. He was married to my mother, Queen Serenity from the moon." Oishi opened his mouth to protest but Eiji silenced him quickly with a hand pressed to his lips. Echizen continued. "They both had respective Guardians and Sailors to protect them from danger and you are apparently one of them."

"The Foreseer used to be Prince Millennium's playmate when they were young. But because the Prince was very serious and strict, they did not play together very much…" Echizen shot a meaningful gaze at Tezuka, who glared at him in return. The freshman snickered. "The Foreseer could not fight due to his lack of physical strength, but he became a strong ally to the Prince when he discovered his sharp sixth sense; he could see a glimpse of the future through glass-made material. (Don't even ask me why.) When his extraordinary ability became known to human society, he quickly earned himself the honourable name of the Prince's Royal Guardian. You are that Foreseer, Oishi-senpai."

"Me…?" Oishi's eyes widened.

"Yay! Now we are Magical Partners, Oishi!" Kikumaru cheered, throwing himself at the vice captain's throat.

"But… why? How…?"

Echizen paid him no heed. "You met princess Serenity and the red sailor at a very young age. At that time, you had already become Buchou's Royal Guardian. You formed a sort of tie with the red sailor and became the Golden Pair. You joined forces and became a team on battle field. Finally, when you managed to land on the moon, a war raged between the Earthrions and the Lunarians. The rest of the tale is bitter."

Oishi was still gaping at him, disbelieving.

Echizen sighed. He had to convince Oishi-senpai in a different way. The poor vice captain was completely lost. "Because the Foreseer is a very visual person, I guess I have no choice but to _show_ him. Karupin!" he summoned.

The Himalayan cat jumped out from behind the small freshman, waiting for new orders from his master. He meowed gently, eagerly, his huge chocolate eyes boring into Echizen's golden ones. "Buchou, Kikumaru-senpai, you must transform into your Magical forms for us to perform the Recollection Ritual."

"The Recollection Ritual?" the red-head and the captain chorused.

"It permits one to shut off one's senses and emerge him into the world of Recollection. It can only be performed when one's body is made of Magical Atoms." Echizen explained.

"Err… in Japanese, please?" Kikumaru pled.

"When you are in Magical mode, you body's atoms are rearranged. Or rather, they are filled with Magical substances and become Magical Atoms. It is what makes you stronger than a normal human."

"Oh." Kikumaru did not sound very convinced to Echizen, but he ignored it. At least his father wasn't a complete idiot.

Indeed, when Kikumaru turned around, Tezuka had already become the Magical Buchou dressed in his fancy black tuxedo. "Hey, no fair Tezuka! You changed before me!" With a pout, the red-head pressed his own TennisBall, muttered "Red TennisBall power make up!" and morphed into his red mini-skirt.

Oishi gaped. "Eiji!! What are you wearing!"

"I can't help it nya!" the acrobat's cheeks were more or less the same color as his hair by then.

"But that… that… _skirt _(if it could even be called a skirt… it was, what, three inches long!)is obscene!" Oishi protested.

"I know!! But I cannot help it!!" The red head wailed.

Tezuka rubbed his forehead. And here he thought nothing could go more wrong when Kikumaru joined his team… "SILENCE!" he snapped finally, unable to bear the commotion anymore. They all automatically fell silent. The Magical Buchou nodded towards his son, motioning for him to proceed.

"Form a circle around Karupin and I," Echizen commanded. The Magical Soldiers complied. "Now, hold your hands together and don't let go, no matter what," the trio did as told. "Close your eyes and repeat after me," he said finally.

_Magical Bodies united,__  
Hands locked and eyes obstructed,__  
Together we remain rooted,  
__Bodies and mind connected._

_At the sound of our plea, come in,__J  
oin our thoughts, Karupin,  
__Release the memories locked within,  
And let the Recollection Ritual begin!_

Karupin meowed one last time, and a strong light surrounded the rooftop. When the mystical flash faded, the Magical Soldiers became stone statues.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

Before them stood the biggest castle they had ever seen. Evergreens surrounded its whereabouts, and the general brouhaha of a nearby village could be heard from their position. For quite a while, all they did was gawp at the regally structured fortress, admiring it for all its splendor. The architect that had designed the place was one to be praised; the castle was grandiose. There were four round towers with cone-shaped roofs on each corner of the construction. A diamond fortification stood, protecting its center from enemy strikeouts. The castle in itself was completely made out of marble, immensely well-maintained and glistening under the sun.

_//"Where are we, nya?" Eiji asked._

"_Inside Karupin's memories," Echizen answered simply._

"_Karupin's memories?" Oishi questioned. Tezuka lifted one inquiring brow as well._

"_The Recollection Ritual permits one's sense to be completely emerged into a scene, a place or a moment of one's memories. Basically, it shuts off reality completely. But because everything you see is just an illusion of the future, you will not be able to touch or change anything in this world," Echizen explained._

"_In other words, we are like in a sensational movie theater, watching Karupin's memories unfold without being able to do anything to change its storyline," Oishi concluded._

"_That's about it. Karupin is like a cat-sized memory card. He has two major abilities: hypnotism and Recollection Ritual. One can transfer his memories to Karupin; he stores them and, when asked, can replay them in front of others."_

"_That's so cool, nya!"_

_Echizen nodded. "We are now a thousand years in the future, on Earth, in front of the Royal Palace where father and his parents live." He stole a glance towards his buchou, trying to decipher his unreadable expression. Was that… nostalgia that flashed through his father's hazel eyes?_

"_Speaking of which, I don't see Karupin…" Oishi remarked._

"_Of course not! He has to maintain a connection to the real world or we would be trapped in here forever," Echizen answered, as if it was blatantly obvious._

"_What! But we can't stay here forever! It will be too lonely without the tennis club and Fujiko!" Kikumaru wailed. "Is your cat to be trusted?"_

"_Karupin does not fail! He is a machine!" Echizen defended._

_They quarrelled for quite a while before Tezuka's voice brought them back to reality. Or rather, to the illusion they were seeing. "The scenery is changing," he stated._

_Echizen, Oishi and Kikumaru nodded, staring right before them.//_

They watched quietly as a thick white mist covered the castle, devouring the bright image little by little. When it dissipated, another scene flashed up. This time, they found themselves in a lovely garden, standing amidst roses and camellias. When they turned around, they saw the rear end of the royal fortress. Thus, they deducted that they were in the castle's backyard.

"Tezuka-kun! Hurry!" a gentle voice called.

A boy, around eight years old with disheveled chestnut brown hair appeared. He looked around, his imperial gaze resting on them for a while before running off in a random direction. They followed him until they reached a small lake in the middle of a forest, far from the flower garden where they previously stood. The castle could still be seen from their position but they knew they had crossed the safety zone.

"Over here!" that gentle voice said again. "Shhh, quietly. Don't disturb them."

They saw the young Tezuka leap through a bush and when they did the same, a beautiful young lady stood before them. She had shoulder-length honey-brown hair that swayed gently to the wind. Her eyes were shielded behind closed eyelids and she was smiling the most radiant smile one could imagine. She looked elegant despite her juvenile traits; just like a princess clad in her white silk dress. They could see a faint blush adorning the nicknamed Tezuka-kun's cheeks.

_//"That's buchou when he was young," Echizen said. Tezuka turned away._

"_Nyaa, how cute! Who is that little girl beside him?"_

"_I remember!" Oishi suddenly shouted. "She was the one I saw once in a dream!"_

"_Eh, not bad coming from you, Foreseer." Echizen congratulated. "Do you know who she is though?"_

"_I…" Oishi paused. "I don't have the slightest idea."_

_Eiji rolled his eyes. Echizen smirked. "She is Princess Serenity, from the moon. She's buchou's fiancée__,__" he told Oishi._

_Tezuka ignored them. His eyes were glued on the little girl that looked so much like Fuji… //_

"Hurry, Tezuka-kun!" Serenity pressed, grabbing Tezuka's hand and leading him further in the woods. "We don't have much time left; our parents will start worrying if we don't return to the palace soon."

"Where are you bringing me?" the bespectacled prince asked.

"Don't ask so many questions! Just come!" the girl answered, pulling harder on his sleeve.

They walked around the lake until they reached the other side of it. There, lied two children, fast asleep on the grass. The one on the left was a red-head and the one on the right had black, fuzzy hair. Both were snoring quite loudly. Serenity chuckled.

"They just joined their souls so they are tired from the huge magical discharge," she informed Tezuka. "Should we wake them up?"

The bespectacled boy shrugged. "As expected from the Golden Pair."

Princess Serenity nodded in agreement. "I knew they would become one item sooner or later. It's just that they took longer than I thought. Do you think they will be able to handle themselves now that they share the same pains and pleasures?" She sat down near the lake, and Tezuka quickly followed suit.

"They will manage," he said.

"But their fighting style has changed considerably. It will take a while to get accustomed to it," she offered.

"Aah."

She chuckled again, her voice soft and melodious. She leaned on Tezuka's shoulder and entwined their hands together. The little prince flushed slightly, resting his own chin on the princess' head. He gave her hand a small squeeze and her smile widened. They closed their eyes, enjoying the silence and sharing an unbroken companionship. A soft wind blew, lifting some scattered leaves and flower petals from the ground and bringing them to the unperturbed lake. The open landscape was a never ending field of green, with soft grass underneath their feet and blue sky above their heads. Finally, Serenity spoke up. "Ne, Tezuka-kun, do you think we can become like them too?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"We don't need to. We share a different kind of bond," he said.

She snuggled deeper inside his embrace in response. "I guess we do…"

Suddenly, a loud beeping noise resounded. _WARNING, WARNING, WARNING_, it chanted. _PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY, I REPEAT, EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY…_

_//"Damn, something must have come up!" Echizen cursed. "Karupin, takes us back to reality, now!"_

"_Nya, I'm scared, Oishi!!" Kikumaru wailed._

"_Hurry, join your hands together! We are going to be propelled from this place soon!" Echizen shouted. "Remember, never let go of the person next to you!"_

_Everyone nodded eagerly._

"_Now then, close your eyes…" //_

Before them, the little girl and his friends were still silently seating on the grass. It was the last thing they saw before the peaceful scenery gradually faded into nothingness.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

The ground shook under their feet. The bright sunlight blinded their eyes. An evil laughter resounded. When finally the Magical Soldiers came to, the first thing they saw was a Rudolphian perched on the end of the Seishun Academy's roof. Immediately, they took their battle position. The enemy's smile widened, obviously pleased by their immediate reaction. He slowly paced towards them.

"At last, I managed to bring you back," the blood sucker said, stopping short just a few feet away from them. His short blue hair swayed in the wind. In his hand, he held a long, red headband. "I, Kisarazu Atsushi shall be your next opponent! Prepare yourselves!"

~To Be Continued~

* * *

**A/N: **Please do not hesitate to ask if there is anything you don't understand. Reviews are always loved and criticism is cherished. As for flames, I might want to toast marshmallows with them.

Also, part time beta is still needed! Please read the ATTENTION notice above for information! Thank you so so much!

**Preview for the next chapter: **The Golden pair is reunited! Now they have to accustom themselves to their new battling style! Just what is the act of joining souls, exactly? And why isn't Fuji like all the rest of the humans? Stay tuned!


	5. Golden pair, Reunited!

And Review replies here~

**melli-elle: **Golden is by far the most... sugary sweet pair of them all. And yes, I agree they are not my fave (ZUKAFUJI IS 8DD) but they are just so... right. x3  
Oh no! Your comment was extremely encouraging, and I appreciate it very very much! And yup yup, Mizuki can be... good-looking as well. XD Even without purple shirts.

**Sileny: **LOL! I'm glad someone noticed it! Yes, it was supposed to be funny. XD Serenity being all graceful and beautiful... and then, BEEP. XDD  
LOL again! It's five words... if you cound 'make-up' as seperate words. Oishi is just such a worrywart. XD And Fuji manipulation will come, in later chapters. For now Echizen will do...  
Thank you so much for the wonderful encouragement!

**wara ningyo: **Thank you so much! But nothing compares to a good, beta-ed chapter. As for Fuji... he will be mysterious. Muahaha. (He will have a major role in the story though. More so than Echizen.)  
Ehehe, do your best! Abusing of animals is wrong and cruel! Wishing you all the best for your presentation!  
Eiji is just so cute. X3 I love him second best after Tezuka and Fuji~ (You have a daisy plant! Those are SO beautiful!)

**BleuFleur: **Ehehe, Golden pair had to reunite first for the story to flow... X3  
Oh no, oh no! I appreciate all your guesses because as an author, I like to receive comments about what others think will happen in the later chapters of my story! Please do continue to elaborate your guesses! It might even give me muse to continue further! It is greatly appreciate them rather than hate them!  
Ahaha Oishi in a skirt is... such a disturbing image! XDDD Yes, he had to transform first or else he might no even consent if he were threatened to death! Oishi is a worrywart and he is awesome like that!  
Hmm.. Fuji's identity is going to be a complicated story... so for now, I can't elaborate much on it. I'm sorry!  
And you can't even begin to wonder how much you were helpful for this fifth chapter. I can't thank you enough... Therefore, this chapter will be dedicated to you, because of your wonderful job.

**Mel's merleawe: **Yay! I'm glad you liked it Hopefully this chapter will be good as well! (Ahaha Tezuka is indeed the Magical Buchou. XD)

**yoshikochan: **Awe, your comments are always so encouraging! Thank you so much!  
ROFL. Yes indeed, Fuji is definitely confused with the too-gay-for-your-eyes-purple-snowflakes.

**Love Chronicles: **Yay thanks~~ I've been there all your life. XDDD Don't worry about it! Hopefully you will like this chapter as well!

**YaoiFanaticFreak: **::Cries:: Thank you so much for the wonderful praise!  
Fuji's identity will be revealed in later chapters, don't worry! x3 As for when Fuji will find out about their magical selves, well, it will come with time. XD Fuji's mastermind will figure it out soon enough.  
And nop, I don't hate St-Rudolph nor Hyotei nor Rikkai, even if they are the opposing forces. Instead, I made them the 'bad guys' because they are my ultimate favorite schools outside Seishun. In fact, I love Mizuki and Yuuta and Sanada and even Atobe! XD They are awesome characters! I made them opposing Seigaku because they are cool like that. XDDD

**MariahGalux: **Fuji will be taking the role as the protagonist of the story soon enough. Echizen will fade out a little in comparison. (Because Fuji is cool and Echizen too much of a Mary-sues.) I'll try my best to add ZukaFuji fluff in this! Thank you so much for reading! (Oh and update fast your other story, Sunlight! Still waiting for the fluff!)

**lachrymosa13blue: **Awe.. good luck with school! I shall enter exam period in two days... so yeah. Gotta study instead of writing! Dx  
Thank you so muuuch! *hugs* I can't believe how much fun I'm having with this story... I just hope I have more time to write... DXYAY!  
Do write, do write! I can't wait for more of your fics! Fluff hopefully? XD I'm craving for ZukaFuji snuggling scenes right now!  
Thank you so so much for the offer of beta! For now, I have BleuFleur who is willing to help me, but if ever she is too busy or is not available, I will definitely ask you! x3

**LoveFujiTez: **Good luck with all the papers, Junn-san! I will be waiting impatiently for your return! If you are ready to take beta works, please advise me of it (because I'm too embarrassed to ask you when you are being so busy! Please forgive me!)

And now, on with the fifth chapter~

**

* * *

Title:** Tales of the Magical Buchou [Arc I: The intrusion of the Rudolphians]**  
****Rating: **PG-13.**  
****Genre: **Romance, Adventure, Drama.**  
Pairing: **ZukaFuji, Golden pair. (No FujixOishi, I repeat, no FujixOishi in the later chapters!)  
**Summary: ** Golden Pair finally reunited! It is now time to get used to fighting in synchro!  
**Warning: **Er... beware of a kissing scene? I could not be avoided!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters and the story background was inspired by Sailor Moon. Tezuka owns Fuji and Fuji owns all. (Actually, Konomi-sensei owns it all, but well, Fuji is cool like that.) Pillar pair should go rot in hell… Dx

**A/N: **Well… here we go, my first shot at Golden Pair fluff… (I thought you would figure I didn't write anything else than Tezuka and Fuji up until now!)

Many, many thanks to my new beta, **BleuFleur**. She did such a wonderful job…! I'm forever in your debt! This chapter is therefore dedicated to you!

* * *

**~ Tales of the Magical Buchou ~**_  
__Chapter five: Golden Pair, Reunited!_

The ground shook under their feet. The bright sunlight blinded their eyes. An evil laughter resounded. When the Magical Soldiers finally came to, the first thing they saw was a Rudolphian perched on the end of the Seishun Academy's roof. Immediately, they took their battle positions. The enemy's smile widened, obviously pleased by their immediate reaction. He slowly paced towards them.

"At last, I managed to bring you back," the bloodsucker said, stopping short just a few feet away from them. His short blue hair swayed in the wind. In his hand, he held a long, red headband. "I, Kisarazu Atsushi shall be your next opponent! Prepare yourselves!"

"Now, Kikumaru-senpai, Oishi-senpai!" Echizen ordered, his eyes never leaving the enemy from under his white cap. "Let the Golden Pair revive!"

The acrobat and the foreseer stared at each other and then glanced at Echizen, clueless as to what to do next. "Hum Echizen…" Oishi started, bringing a hand to the back of his head. He smiled sheepishly and asked what they were supposed to do in such a situation, which caused the freshman to sigh in exasperation. Not everyone had the same reflexes as his dad, he realized. "Join your hands together, let your hearts become one and when your TennisBalls turn golden, you will become a pair in battle."

Oishi blinked twice before blushing furiously. He stared at his doubles partner, then at his hand, then back at Echizen. "Hum… we…" he began, doubtfully.

"How are we supposed to let our hearts become one, nya?" the red head asked, picking up both Oishi's hands in his own without hesitation. The foreseer blushed and looked away, uncomfortable with the way things turned out to be.

"How am I supposed to know? Just close your eyes and do something!" Echizen cried, exasperated and –though he would rather die than admit it– a little embarrassed as well.

"But it's a public place! We can't possibly…" Oishi protested, pink cheeks slowly turning vermillion.

Tezuka's jaw twitched. What on earth was Oishi thinking?

"Why not Oishi? It's just about closing our eyes and joining our hearts right?" the clueless, innocent Kikumaru asked. "C'mon let's do it, let's do it!" he coaxed, excited.

Twitch. Kisarazu raised a hand, trying to catch their attention. He seemed to have been completely forgotten and it greatly damaged his ego. "Hum…" he started but was swiftly cut off when the Magical Buchou sent a glare his way.

"Twenty laps around the rooftop now!" the captain commanded and, a little disoriented by the whole deal, Kisarazu tied his headband around his forehead and ran his laps as told. Tezuka then directed his imperial gaze towards the vice-captain. "Oishi, get a hold of yourself!" he ordered.

"H-hai!" the foreseer answered automatically. Closing his eyes, he tried to think of a way to join his heart with Kikumaru's. _Let's see… Eiji… toothpaste… Daigorou… Golden pair… _he thought restlessly of ways to make them become one. _Pancakes… sweets… er, hoi hoi and nya… argh! How are we supposed to do this? _Out of ideas, Oishi opened his eyes and shook his head. "Eiji, I don't think it will…" he gasped when he noticed how close the red head was leaning. He could practically feel the other's breath mixed with his own. Then their eyes met.

And the next thing he knew, he could no longer avert his gaze from Kikumaru's sapphire orbs. A golden fire lit up on their irises and their bodies began moving as one. Eiji subconsciously fished out his red TennisBall from his pocket and brought it towards Oishi's hands so that both were holding it. The object began changing. From the top, where the foreseer's hand rested, it turned yellow, then gold, and then the color stretched out so that it completely surrounded the TennisBall. When the metamorphosis ended, the golden light in both their eyes disappeared as well. As the duo slowly came to, they had become the Golden pair.

Echizen smirked. "See, you managed just fine, Oishi-senpai."

"A-ah… I guess…" the foreseer absently agreed, still in a daze.

"Now, you must know how to fight as a doubles pair because I won't be able to help you much with it; doubles is just not my thing," the freshman explained. "Kikumaru-senpai will do the attacking, because he is the strongest one physically, and you, Oishi-senpai, will receive Kikumaru-senpai's pain because you are stronger mentally. You can lessen the pain with mental will if you try hard enough. In other words, when in Golden mode, Kikumaru-senpai won't feel anything no matter how bad he is injured. You will endure it for him instead."

The acrobat frowned. "I don't understand nya!"

Echizen pulled his cap down and sighed. He then pinched his red headed senpai's arm. "OUCH!" Oishi yelled instead. The freshman smirked when Kikumaru just stared at him with wide eyes, with no sign of pain showing on his face. "Do you understand now, Kikumaru-senpai? Father and I will not help you this round; we want to see how you and Oishi-senpai will fare as the Golden pair so you better take care of your body if you don't want him to suffer."

A heavy panting interrupted them. "Have… you guys finished… talking yet…?" Kisarazu Atsushi, who just finished his twenty laps asked, both hands on his knees to support his exhausted body.

"Ah, we are done," the Magical Buchou replied. "We shall now punish you in the name of Tennis!" he said, pointing at the half-crouched Rudolphian.

"It's the Golden pair's turn, nya!" Eiji exclaimed, jumping around in excitement. "Bring it on, Kisarazu Atsushi! But we warn you, we play doubles!" He glanced back at his partner, who nodded dutifully at him in return. The Golden pair readied themselves, Kikumaru in front for easier attacking, and Oishi behind, ready to back his partner up.

The Rudolphian smirked and, in a graceful movement of the arm, removed his red headband from his hair. "That's convenient," he said, his body suddenly beginning to glow, "I happen to play doubles as well… with this whip!" With a sudden jerk of his arm, he sent the red cloth clashing towards Kikumaru.

"EIJI!!" Oishi cried, but the red head, caught off guard, did not have the time to evade the attack. The extended red headband slashed across the acrobat's cheek but did not leave any trace of injury behind. Instead, Oishi gave a turbulent yelp, his own cheek bleeding in the stead of Kikumaru's.

"No, Oishi!" the red head gasped, immediately running towards his partner. "Oh no, I'm so sorry Oishi! Does it hurt? Don't leave me, Oishi!"

But the mother hen forced a smile on his face despite the pain. "I'm fine Eiji. Do me a favor and take care of yourself?"

The acrobat's eyes were filled with tears. "Okay…" he choked in-between sobs.

"How naïve!" Kisarazu yelled, clashing his headband towards the redhead again. "I thought you knew better than to turn your back on your opponent!" With a loud whistle, the whip once again launched forward to slash Kikumaru. This time, the acrobat was ready enough to evade the attack. The Rudolphian clenched his teeth and doubled his efforts, sending his weapon toward its target fast and accurately. The redhead, with a flexible bend, evaded his whip again.

"Zannen munen, matta raishuu!" Kikumaru chanted, sticking out his tongue at the enemy. That Kisarazu was one hundred years too early if he wanted to outdo the number one acrobat. Eiji danced to the rhythm of the clashing red headband, evading it just in time, never missing a beat. He jumped, flexed, bended and twisted effortlessly, making it look easy and… elegant. Oishi found himself unable to tear his eyes off his doubles partner.

But as the whip augmented its pace, Kikumaru found himself unable to follow properly. His stamina was decreasing with all the excessive movements. His grin disappeared as he just barely managed to twist away from the headband. His previous steady breathing now came out in small pants and his skin was sweating uncontrollably.

Noticing this, Kisarazu smirked. "Well well, maybe I should stop now before you collapse in exhaustion. Besides, the saying tells me to never play with my food. Shall we finish this?" And with a swing of his arm, the whip sailed towards the redhead. Kisarazu let go of his weapon so that it could wrap itself around the target. His eyes glittered with satisfaction when Kikumaru failed to untwist himself from the headband.

"Nya!" Eiji whined once he was sure he was caught inside the trap.

Laughing a victorious laugh, Kisarazu walked towards the immobilized Kikumaru. He grabbed one end of the headband that was tied around the red sailor's body and brought it to his lips. The acrobat's eyes widened as the weapon glowed a bright red and tightened around him.

"Argh!" Oishi yelped from behind his partner, falling to his knees.

"Oishi!" Kikumaru wailed. "Stop it, please! What are you doing to Oishi?" he asked Kisarazu. The enemy ignored him, sucking the foreseer's Magical essence from the red headband. Kikumaru wriggled, trying to escape the deadly weapon. "Please, no, you are going to kill Oishi!" he pleaded, tears in his eyes. "Oishi! No, Oishi!"

Distressed, Tezuka sent a flying rose towards Kisarazu. It slashed him across the face, but the Rudolphian paid him no heed. As he continued sucking on Oishi's essence, the wound on his cheek disappeared. Angry, the Magical Buchou sent another one flying towards the enemy, but the result was the same: the enemy kept sucking.

The foreseer grabbed his chest in pain, pressing his lips shut to avoid screaming. His strength was gradually slipping away from him. He lay on the floor, powerless, as his costume began to fade into smoke. Once he was fully clad in his school uniform, his magical powers completely gone, he heard someone yell his name but could not register who it was. Tired and in pain, he whispered Eiji's name one last time and fell unconscious. And in synch, the golden TennisBall returned to its original color.

"Oishi!"

Echizen's eyes widened at the familiar sound of Fuji-senpai's voice. He turned around and watched, distressed, as the prodigy effortlessly slammed the rooftop's double-locked door open. The young freshman glared suspiciously at him; every single hair on his body stood up when he felt the aura that the mysterious third year carried. Echizen sat back, examining his upperclassman from a hidden corner. At the first suspicious movement Fuji made, he would jump out, capture him and torture him until he spit his secrets out.

Fuji's blue eyes were wide open with shock as he ran towards the vice-captain. "Oishi, are you okay?" the honey-haired youth asked, his voice betraying his concern.

"Nya, Fujiko-chan!" the redhead wailed, still tightly tied up. His cheeks were wet with tears. "Please help Oishi!"

Fuji scrutinized the red Sailor carefully. His blue eyes snapped open as he recognized his best friend beneath the costume. "Eiji…? Is that you…? What happened?" he asked.

Echizen crouched, ready to leap if Fuji-senpai did anything reckless now that he had Kikumaru-senpai's identity figured out.

But Kisarazu was one step ahead. In the blink of an eye, the redhead was released from the red whip that now sought Fuji's body. Caught off guard, the prodigy found himself captive of the deadly headband. "Wha…" he began, but the rest of his sentence died in his throat as the weapon began glowing again.

"Fuji!" Tezuka called and ran towards his friend. Unfortunately, the image of Kisarazu drinking his blood generously filled Fuji's vision. He therefore did not notice his captain standing just a little behind him.

"Hmm…" the Rudolphian savored, closing his eyes. "Your essence tastes wonderful," he said before bringing the end of the whip back to his lips. When he opened his eyes again, it was to smirk and caress a panting Fuji's cheek lustfully. "You taste so good, this isn't enough. It's a pain to take your essence from this whip; it takes such a long time for it to reach my lips. Maybe I should just move to your neck…"

"Stop…" Fuji gasped, feeling his body weaken and his breathing become erratic. He moaned painfully when the enemy's teeth sank deeper in his skin and felt all strength leave him. His eyes shut closed against his will and, gradually, he sank deeper into the depths of unconsciousness.

"Buchou! Help him, nya!" Kikumaru yelled, too tired himself to move.

Tezuka glared at Kisarazu, launching a second rose at him. But this time, the flower disintegrated before it even reached the enemy. Behind his white ball mask, Tezuka's eyes widened in horror as the Rudolphian grinned. "Impressive," Kisarazu praised, lifting his head from the crook of Fuji's neck, "this human's essence is so strong your rose can't even touch it. I can't wait to taste more of it." That said, he moved his lips back to Fuji's exposed neck.

Suddenly, a blue light flashed, temporarily blinding every single one of them with its clarity.

Yelping, the Rudolphian jumped a few meters away from Fuji. The prodigy's usual warm eyes were gone, replaced instead with a pair of lost, icy blue orbs that froze everything still. His body flashed a crystalline light that ripped the red headband wrapped around him into a million pieces, and still the destructive gleam kept radiating from Fuji's lithe form. The remains of the whip fused together, forming a glowing yellow TennisBall. Kisarazu gritted his teeth at the sight of his destroyed weapon.

Echizen froze. Even from his hiding place, he could perfectly feel the sudden sprout of strength that radiated from his senpai's fragile body. No… it was impossible! How could Fuji-senpai, a mere humanof all people, possess such captivating energy? The freshman stared, unable to move a single step, as the fight continued.

Lifting one graceful hand up, an aquamarine thunderball formed at the end of Fuji's palm. As it grew bigger in size and deadlier in strength, the light around Fuji began fading. When it was the size of a regular tennis ball, Fuji launched it towards the Rudolphian, hitting him squarely on the chest. The enemy immediately collapsed to the ground, his body unable to resist such a strong blow.

"Now, Buchou!" Echizen suddenly exclaimed, snapping out of his trance.

Nodding, Tezuka threw his own crystal black TennisBall in the air and sent it crashing at full force towards the fallen enemy. Kisarazu screamed as the second Magical blow of the day hit him. With a clap of his bruised hands, he vanished, leaving a dark blue TennisBall as the only evidence of his appearance.

When everything stilled and the Rudolphian disappeared, Fuji gracefully strode toward the unconscious Oishi. He knelt in front of the vice-captain's body, and gently lowered his lips to the foreseer's, their skin barely touching. He closed his icy eyes, void of emotions, and began pouring his strength to the other. When the blue light was completely transmitted from his body to Oishi's, he closed his eyes and fell on top of the vice-captain. Fuji was no longer glowing; his cheeks were void of color and his skin was as cold as snow. Instead, Oishi had regained his energy and glowed faintly. With a sudden explosion of smoke, he was back in his foreseer's costume.

"Oishiii!" Kikumaru wailed, straddling him when he finally opened his eyes.

Tezuka hastily removed Fuji's body from Oishi's and held him close. His heart squeezed in pain when he touched his childhood friend's cold skin. The Magical Buchou closed his eyes, trying to ignore Fuji's swollen lips (swollen, because of the major transfer of energy rather than the scarce lip lock) that were previously kissing the vice-captain's. He tried not to glare at Oishi either, knowing that what just happened was beyond the foreseer's control. He sighed and clenched his fists, trying to dismiss his sudden streak of possessiveness.

"Eiji? Tezuka? What happened?" Oishi asked, regaining his consciousness.

"You fainted because that stupid Rudolphian took too much of your power, nya!" Kikumaru explained.

"Indeed, you were almost dying because of major blood loss," Echizen, who had kept silent during the whole battle, added. "One's essence is located in his blood; thus, it is impossible to retrieve one's essence without drinking one's blood at the same time. Kisarazu just had the extra ability to do it using his headband as a straw instead of drinking directly from one's vein."

Kikumaru wailed in disgust. Oishi flinched.

"As for us Magical fighters, we can transfer our energy through our lips. It is what Fuji-senpai just did to revive you, Oishi-senpai. If he hadn't done it, you would have probably died within another hour," Echizen said, noticing the visible blush on the foreseer's cheek and the obvious pout of the acrobat's face. He glanced at his father and was surprised to see him frowning and holding just a little tighter onto his nicknamed wife. He pulled at his cap gravely and then turned his attention back to Oishi-senpai. "Your body is weaker than average so I believe you wouldn't hold too long without help." Echizen told him seriously. "But I never thought Fuji-senpai had such a strong healing essence to revive you in an instant; it normally takes one hour for the transferred power to take effect. Guess I was underestimating him."

Tezuka glared. "Is there no other way to transfer energy than through a lip lock?"

"There is, but it is beyond our capabilities right now."

"What will happen to Fuji now, nya?" Kikumaru asked, helping Oishi stand up.

Echizen shrugged and summoned his cat. "I'll make Karupin erase his memories first, for safety measures. We cannot allow him to interfere with our mission without knowing for sure if he is an ally or an enemy. Until we gather more Sailors and Guardians, we must avoid facing off with him at all cost. With his strength, even though it's unstable, we might not stand a chance. I estimate he will recover within a day or so."

Tezuka glared at the freshman, and brought Fuji's body closer to his chest. "Do you still doubt him after what he just did?"

Echizen lowered his cap over his eyes. "He could have done that just to gain your trust…" he mumbled under his breath. "I still have to erase his memories though."

Reluctantly, Tezuka laid Fuji on the ground and let the Himalayan cat roam over his body. The feline fixed his chocolate brown orbs to Fuji's closed eyelids and in a nanosecond was projected a meter back by a mystic blue light that enveloped the prodigy's slim figure. The cat hissed, the fur on his back standing up in alarm.

"Karupin?" Echizen whispered with wide eyes. He then glared defiantly at Fuji. "He… recovered from a complete loss of power so fast?! How could he summon enough strength to push Karupin away when he is barely alive?"

"What happened?" Oishi and Kikumaru asked together. Tezuka prodded for answers with his glaring eyes as well.

Echizen bared his teeth in disapproval. "Fuji-senpai completely donated his powers to you, Oishi-senpai," (the foreseer blushed, remembering the prodigy's lips on his, and quickly dismissed the image), "and within one minute, recovered enough energy to push Karupin away while being barely conscious. Even for the strongest mages, it takes on average one hour to one day to recover from complete loss of energy. I've never heard of someone recovering within a minute!" He glared again at the unconscious prodigy. "He's no normal human. We should stay away from him."

"We can't leave him here while he is barely alive!" Tezuka protested angrily.

"Buchou's right, nya! If we leave him here, Fuji will die!" Kikumaru agreed.

Oishi nodded as well. "Enemy or not, he did save my life."

Feeling defeated, Echizen pulled his cap low over his eyes and glared at them from underneath his hat. "Whatever… just don't come running to me when he betrays you," he spat, and in one swift motion, jumped off the roof and disappeared.

Kikumaru and Oishi stared at the empty place that the freshman had occupied just seconds ago in disbelief. "He's sulking…" Oishi said and the redhead giggled. They stood up and collected the two newly found TennisBalls. Kikumaru kept the dark blue one while Oishi handed the yellow one to Tezuka. The Buchou accepted it with a grateful nod.

"Oishi, bring Kikumaru to morning practice. I'll join you when Fuji comes to," he commanded, cradling his childhood friend in his arms and walking towards their shared dorm room.

"Ah, you might want to transform back, Tezuka…"

"Right. I'll see you at morning practice then," the Magical Buchou said, before transforming back to the usual Tezuka, clad in Seishun Academy's black uniform.

Kikumaru sniggered, nudging his partner with his elbow playfully when the captain disappeared. "I think the husband is falling for his wife, nya," he sang playfully. "Should we match-make them, partner?"

"Let's not meddle in other people's love lives, now, Eiji," Oishi gently reprimanded him.

"Hmph, you are no fun, Oishi," the redhead fake-pouted.

"We should get to morning practice before Tezuka gives us laps, Eiji."

"Tezuka will give you enough laps for stealing a kiss from his wife anyway!" the redhead sang, before dashing towards the exit.

"EIJI!" he heard Oishi scream before sniggering and running away.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

In the middle of nowhere, a figure sat on a single throne, twirling his curly hair on his index finger. He glared at the Rudolphian kneeling in the middle of the unlit room and sighed.

"Let me guess… you lost both TennisBalls and got your ass kicked?" he asked, his voice betraying incredulousness.

"I apologize, Mizuki-sama,, but they caught me off-guard," Kisarazu Atsushi answered, bowing his head in shame.

"I thought you were better than Yanagisawa, but you turned out to be another useless fool. Nfu… I guess no one can surpass my prowess no matter how hard I train them."

"My deepest apologies Mizuki-sama, but the human's blood was strongly distracting. I've never tasted anything so good, it made me careless," Kisarazu admitted.

"Shameful fool! It is only normal my eternal rival's blood is strong. After all, not many can be on par with my beautiful self!" Mizuki screamed. "You shall train alongside Yanagisawa from now on to learn to control your urges!"

"Yes…" the kneeling Rudolphian bowed.

"Now then, I guess I don't have the choice but to send Akazawa and his partner to finish the job. Capture Fuji Syuusuke!"

The room became silent afterwards.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

Fuji blinked his eyes open. He saw a figure leaning on top of him, gently combing through his honey locks and moaned in pleasure. With his cold hands, he pushed himself up from the bed and stared at his childhood friend's hazel orbs. He smiled, seeing Tezuka quickly retrieving his hand from his hair, embarrassed at being caught. "Morning," Fuji whispered and leapt off the bed.

"How are you feeling Fuji?" came the concerned question from his nicknamed husband.

The prodigy's smile turned sly. "Having your body pressed against mine like that, I guess I've never felt better."

As predicted, Tezuka immediately avoided his gaze. Fuji smiled, feeling his friend's uneasiness. Then, Tezuka spoke up. "Fuji, I want you to keep this morning's events a secret," he said, without turning to face the prodigy.

"Oh, I don't plan to share our private moments to the public," Fuji assured him. "You've known me for long enough to know that I deeply treasure our friendship, Tezuka."

"Don't lie to me, Fuji. This is a serious matter," the captain said, his patience wearing thin. He turned to meet Fuji's stare. "We cannot risk for any human to be involved in this. It's far too dangerous for them as it is for our future."

"What are you talking about?" Fuji asked, his open blue orbs innocent and demanding.

Frowning, Tezuka tried to see if his friend was toying with him. And to his surprise, Fuji's blue orbs reflected pure wariness "Do you… not remember what happened?" he asked finally, disbelieving.

"All I remember is snuggling with you in bed until morning came as we used to do when we were young. Is there something else I should remember?"

"Don't joke with me, Fuji! Do you not remember kissing Oishi?" Tezuka then asked, jealousy taking the best of him.

Fuji's eyes widened. "Tezuka you…"

"Do you remember now?" the captain asked, looking away. He felt another stab of pain realizing that throughout all the morning events, Fuji chose to precisely remember his lip lock with the vice-captain. He could not help but feel slightly protective of his childhood friend.

"Tezuka, it's unhealthy to mix up dreams from reality. I did not kiss anyone since that accident two years ago. And even then, I wasn't the one doing the kissing."

The captain's cheeks flushed the faintest pink, remembering the incident. "I let my guard down that time," he defended himself.

Fuji chuckled. "Admit it, you couldn't resist kissing me after having me pinned against the ground. After all, it's beyond your control," he teased.

"I tripped, Fuji." Tezuka defended.

"You could have just apologized and walked away. But instead, you wisely decided to take advantage of the compromising situation to steal my first kiss," Fuji corrected him.

Tezuka sighed, deciding that it was pointless to argue with Fuji. The prodigy seemed to have forgotten the morning's incident (or at least, he was insisting on acting clueless). The captain got up and walked towards the door. "Get ready for morning practice, Fuji" he ordered before closing the door shut behind him, indicating that the conversation was over. The prodigy smiled silently and obeyed.

It was then he noticed the yellow TennisBall resting innocently on the nightstand.

He grinned.

~To be Continued~

* * *

**A/N: **I've finally decided Fuji's role in this story (because he has a major role, yes,). Look forward to some more action (and ZukaFuji fluff, because they are SO OFFICIALLY CANON SINCE TEZUKA CONFESSED TWICE IN GERMAN AND THROUGH HIS SONGS) in the future chapters~

**Preview for the next chapter: **Kikumaru decided, after morning practice, to start a hugging fit in order to find the owner of the dark blue TennisBall, much to one Oishi Shuichiroh's dismay. Meanwhile, Fuji steals the yellow TennisBall away and toys with it...


	6. The Two Powerhouses

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I've updated... I guess exams took the best of my free time... Hopefully this lengthy chapter will make up for it! Two more Magical soldiers added to the team~

**wara ningyo: **Yes, muahahaha. I tend to like to spoil Fuji. He is after all the ******** of them all. (I'll leave you to guess what the stars represent). And Golden pair is just adorable! (But nothing beats Perfect, nothing!) So yes, unfortunately, Tezuka must get jealous over Oishi and protect Fuji as much as he can. Ehehe, you will see more clearly with each chapter of Fuji's intentions! Here is chapter six, happy read! (Sorry for the long wait!)

**Sileny: **Poor Echizen. I'm just purely torturing him in this... But hey, someone has to punish him for always sticking to Perfect pair, right? As for Oishi, maybe he isn't so innocent after all... and Tezuka will have to glare at him from now on, whenever he's within three meter radius from Fuji. And yup, Fuji is the best! He owns all and Tezuka owns him. As for the first kiss incident... it will be mentioned again, I promise. ZukaFuji ftw!

**xSadistxFuji: **Gomen for the late update! Exams have been killing me... And wow, here I thought that 5,000 words was overwhelming for a chapter... I guess it's not lengthy enough. I agree Perfect pair is so hard to write! There's so much angst... and Tezuka is cold yet warm and Fuji sweet yet evil... they are so contradicting! But I love them too much to leave them alone... So I try my best! Hopefully you'll write about them soon as well! (If you do, don't hesitate to PM me. I'll love to read them).  
Thank you so much, and please enjoy chapter six!

**AniManGa19930: **Thank you so much for the encouragement! *Cries tears of joy* As for Oishi, he is a dead man... unless he keeps a fair distance from Fuji until Tezuka gets full claim on him. And when will Tezuka have full claim on Fuji...? I'm guessing around chapter 10 or so. Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter as well!

**yoshikochan: **LOL! Golden pair.... failed, but that's because it's their first fight! (Basically, almost everyone fails until they get proper training. They are all new to the whole magic deal after all... except Fuji because he is so spoiled in this story). LOL! But of course, basically everyone loves Fuji. (This is some kind of a everyonexFuji but-only-Tezuka-gets-to-have-him-fic) Tezuka has to do better than this to actually claim him as his though.

**BleuFleur: **I doubt Echizen is able to doubles at anything at all. I mean, his social interest is -200% and love interest three times lower than that. I'm glad you noticed that their battle formations are like in tennis! XD It's so relieving for an author to know the readers actually read between the lines! Hurray!  
Fuji is completely spoiled in this ficclet... that's all I can say. As to if he is guilty or not, and unconscious or not of his actions... it will be clarified in the near future!  
I love Mizuki. He is such a fun character to toy with! Somehow delusional as you say, yet still so confident... I love him.  
Your comments are always so... helpful and loved and cherished... *cries tears of joy* How can I ever thank you enough for your wonderful job?

**Love Chronicles: **Stay tuned, Tina-chan! XD And yes, more Karupin and RRs in the later chapters, don't worry! More actions to come soon~

**YaoiFanaticFreak: **Fuji... took the yellow TennisBall, yes... But you must find out what he does with it in this chapter! (I'm so evil... sigh). As for Rikkai and Hyotei, they will show up as soon as the gang is done with St-Rudolph... in later chapters, probably. I cannot fix an exact chapter, but surely they will be here faster than you can imagine! ^_^

**lachrymosa13blue: **Thank you so much! More TeFu moments to come in Chapter 7... basically the whole chapter is for them alone. (I mean, it's about time they get more spotlight!)

**Mel's Merleawe: **Sorry for all the confusion... it will be cleared up chapter by chapter. Fuji is so intriguing, ne! Happy reading~

**jadefuji: **Junn-san.....! *cries* thank you so much for all your support... it means everything to me. *hugs* hopefully you will like this chapter as well! (Your guesses on who are the owners of the TennisBalls will be answered here!)

**shourin: **Ehehe... if you are already 100 percent sure Fuji is Tezuka's wife.... what more can I say? XD As to why nobody suspects it, it's because Fuji is a male while Serenity isn't. And Echizen... don't worry, he's much closer to his mother than his father. As to why he is so suspicious of Fuji, it's revealed a little in this chapter. Kinda. Happy read!

**Tezuka Fuji: **Wai, thank you for your comments! More TezukaFuji to come, this I can promise... as for Dream pair, there will be friendship between them but no serious love affair. Pillar is NEVER going to appear here (I'm not even sorry, hopefully you are not offended) and Thrill... well... there might be hints, if you want to take it like that.. but I can't elaborate on that right now. Tezuka and Fuji are SO going to end up together though, that I cannot change. Hopefully you will like this chapter as well!

* * *

**Title:** Tales of the Magical Buchou [Arc I: The intrusion of the Rudolphians]**  
****Rating: **PG-13.  
**Pairing: **ZukaFuji, with hints of Golden pair and a newly formed friendship: MomoRyo!**  
****Genre: **Romance, Adventure, Drama.**  
****Summary: **While Oishi and Eiji are on a quest to find the owner of the dark blue TennisBall (via a hugging fit thought of by none other than the redhead), Fuji gets to toy around with the yellow TennisBall…

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters and the story background was inspired by Sailor Moon. Tezuka owns Fuji and Fuji owns all. Pillar pair should go rot in hell… Dx

**A/N: **Two more sailors added up~~ (and two more to go!) I'm not sure but I'm still thinking about drawing them all in their costumes when they are reunited… what do you think? :D

Oh also, pay close attention to Kawamura's part of the story and his costume. It is a crucial point for the chapters to come, because Kawamura shares a close connection with *censored* and a deep rivalry with *censored*. ^^

Many thanks to my wonderful beta, **BleuFleur **for her fast and very thorough work. *Bows deeply*

* * *

**~ Tales of the Magical Buchou ~**_  
__Chapter six: The Two Powerhouses_

Fuji grinned as he spotted the new yellow tennis ball that rested innocently on the nightstand. Grabbing the fuzzy object with a fluid motion of the arm, he then sought out a permanent marker from his pencil case. He scribbled on the ball, always smiling mischievously, and slid it in his tennis bag once he was done with it. He would give it back to Tezuka since it wasn't his belonging in the first place, he told himself, but without being noticed. He could already picture in his mind the number of laps he would get for toying with the precious tennis ball, but it was all too tempting… and it's not like he couldn't struggle his way out of his punishment. Tezuka was no less than clever, but when it came to scheming, Fuji knew he would always be one step ahead.

He exited the dorm room he shared with his childhood friend and gracefully strode toward the clubroom. He greeted his teammates, chatting with them occasionally, and without anyone noticing, slid the yellow TennisBall inside the pocket of Tezuka's white shorts once they were standing beside each other outside. The other regulars were already positioned on court, ready to challenge their opponent.

"You should practice as well, Fuji," Tezuka told him.

"Hm… but Taka-san isn't here," he replied, his voice betraying ever so slightly his concern. "Do you know if something happened to him?"

Tezuka did not answer immediately, instead shooting a wary glance towards their coach, Ryuuzaki-sensei. "He will have to run laps for missing practice," he finally said, after a long pause. Fuji did not miss the flimsy sign of concern that flashed through Tezuka's hazel eyes. He knew that despite his cold façade, Tezuka was very caring and soft on the inside. It was at times like this that Fuji truly wondered if the inaccessible exterior was really necessary; he, for one, really missed the less rigid Tezuka of their youthful days that always seemed to plague his dreams. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and chuckled to himself, tugging at Tezuka's sleeve and dragging him towards the only available court.

"Come, you will have to practice with me, then," he told him, his smile curving generously on the side. "It's been such a long time we played each other… how about a warm-up game?"

It didn't take Tezuka half a second to agree.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

By the time Kawamura showed up, morning practice had already ended. Tezuka seemed to be the only one that was reluctant to leave the courts despite the harsh training. One by one, the tennis club members changed to prepare for their morning class, some of them greeting Kawamura as they passed by. Among the regulars, it was Oishi who first spotted Kawamura standing near the fence, a few feet away from them. He and all the others, minus Tezuka (who was still on the court), did not hesitate to greet him and ask him why he missed out on practice and how out-of-character it was for him to skip out.

"I had to finish a project with, hum, a classmate…" the shy boy began, bringing a hand to the back of his head in embarrassment, "so I could not attend morning practice. Sorry, guys."

Fuji gently patted his shoulder while Momo grinned widely and assured him it was okay; Kaidoh hissed dismissively and Inui continued to scribble in his notebook, all those actions causing Kawamura to blush further.

"You might want to go tell Tezuka though," Oishi told the burning player, "we were worried about you."

"That's right nya!" Kikumaru added, pouncing on his doubles partner to emphasize his point. "Ryuuzaki-sensei was really worried! You should have seen her face!"

Kawamura apologized again, bowing low to his friends, before Fuji assured him it was fine and ushered him towards where Tezuka stood on the other side of the fence. His face flushed crimson and he quickly squirmed away from Fuji's touch.

"AH!" Momoshiro suddenly cried, startling them greatly. "We're going to be late for first period, Mamu—" he blinked, looking around and seeing no trace of his worst enemy. "Damn, he ran away first!" the second year cursed. He quickly bid goodbye to his upperclassmen and sprinted off towards the school building. Oishi smiled at the familiar sight, glad that all of the third years had free period first thing in the morning so they didn't need to rush. Inui and Fuji walked away as well, after bidding them goodbye, towards the library to finish their homework. He himself stole one last glance towards Taka-san and Tezuka before being dragged away from the courts by his energetic doubles partner.

Oishi was far from guessing what the acrobat had in store for him.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

"Ah, Buchou," Kawamura called once he stood at a fair distance from where Tezuka was. The captain slowly turned around, circumspect eyes not quite glaring from behind rimless glasses, and nodded in acknowledgement. Slightly uneasy with the unfriendly aura Tezuka was emitting, Kawamura stayed frozen on the spot, his shoulder tense and his posture stiff. "Hum… how many laps should I run for missing practice…?" he asked, his voice slightly trembling with all the palpable tension that hung in the air.

"Play a match against me," Tezuka simply said, handing him his spare racket from across the net.

Kawamura took the racket reluctantly, not exactly certain of what to do. The second his palm touched the familiar handle though, his worries dissipated into thin air. A raging fire burned in his irises, and, violently swinging his arms, he made his way towards his end of the court. "BURNING!" he shouted shamelessly at his captain. "VICTORY SHALL BE MINE, BUCHOU!"

Tezuka nodded, accepting the challenge. He subconsciously fished the yellow TennisBall from his pocket (since the freshmen had already stored away the rest of the tennis balls) and served fiercely towards his opponent. Before Kawamura could even react, the TennisBall had already bounced on his side of the court and nestled in his free hand as if it purposely aimed for that spot. It was beeping incessantly by the time Tezuka had reached his side, grabbed his racket and dragged him towards the clubroom.

"Buchou...?" he asked hesitantly once they were on the other side of the locked doors.

"Press the center of the TennisBall and try saying 'Yellow TennisBall power make up'," the captain informed him, his expression immutable.

The confused burning player's eyes widened. "Hum… I…" he stuttered.

"Do it," Tezuka ordered him.

With a small nod, Kawamura pressed the ball tightly in his palm, oblivious to the drawings Fuji previously did on the ball and whispered "Yellow TennisBall power make up."

A bright light flashed, illuminating the whole room with its radiance, as Kawamura began to change. His uniform was replaced by golden armor, complete with a heavy metal helmet that only left his chocolate eyes uncovered. His yellow TennisBall then split in half and swirled around Kawamura's arms and hands in all its glowing radiance. When the glowing ceased, twin silver axes with a smiling face, a heart and a signature carved into each blade rested in his armor-covered palms instead of the split TennisBall. Tezuka watched with proud eyes as the morphing teen clad in his new gold and silver costume became part of his team.

Kawamura was shell shocked with the sudden turn of events while Tezuka told him, as best as he could since Echizen was surprisingly nowhere to be seen, about their mission to save planet Earth together.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

"Haruko-chaaan!" called the redhead as he pounced on a random girl in the hallways. The small brunette blushed furiously and tried to pry the energetic Eiji off her shoulders. She finally succeeded when the acrobat pounced on his next victim, loudly cheering the other's name. "Hey Matsuda-kun, nya!!" When nothing happened again, Eiji tackled the next person that passed him by.

"Nya, you, over there!" he said, waving his free hand (as the other one was still around his victim's neck) at the boy across the hallway, "I forgot your name! Come back! You still didn't get your hug, nya!"

The acrobat sprinted off towards the escaping boy, leaving poor Oishi apologizing for his behavior to his prior victims. "Please forgive him…" the tennis club's vice captain said, bowing slightly, "You know how he is all the—EIJI!!" he suddenly yelled, running after his doubles partner in a hurry.

Before he knew it, the bell that called for the end of first period had rung. Oishi sighed, grabbing Eiji by the arm and pulling him close. "Eiji, I really don't think you should bother other people like that…" he said seriously, looking at the redhead in the eyes. "I'm sure there are other ways to find the owner of the blue TennisBall than to stick on to other people to make it beep… I mean, it's not like we are sure that the owner is even in this school and—"

"Hey, isn't that Momo and Ochibi there, at the canteen?" Eiji cut him off, running over to tackle his underclassmen. Oishi sighed, shaking his head from side to side in a sign of dejectedness.

"What are you eating, Momo?" Kikumaru grinned, pouncing on the second year from behind. "Is that cheesecake?! I never knew the canteen sold those!" he suddenly exclaimed.

Momo was slightly startled at the sudden extra weight on his shoulders. "Eiji-senpai!" he acknowledged, "I'm not going to share!"

Both of them were too caught up in their playful bickering to notice the loud beeping coming from the acrobat's pants' pocket. Echizen was the first to come out of his trance. He glanced at Oishi-senpai, and both of them dragged Momo and Eiji to the rooftop after exchanging significant nods. Once they reached their destination, Oishi pried his partner off the second year and held him tightly by the arm to keep him still. "Eiji, we need the TennisBall now…" he whispered gently.

Kikumaru's eyes widened for a second before realization dawned on him. "Momo! You are a part of us, nya!" he cried in delight, eagerly handing over the dark blue charm from his pocket.

Echizen grabbed the TennisBall and gave it to the second year he had started to form an awkward friendship with. Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was actually glad his loud senpai was a part of their growing team. It would be much easier to be friends with someone who you did not have to hide things from, after all. "Here, Momo-senpai," he said, extending his hand with the TennisBall to the second year, "press the center button and say 'Dark Blue TennisBall power make up!'"

Momoshiro blinked, once, twice, and then grabbed the freshman's cheeks and stretched them. "What, are you mocking your senpai?" he asked incredulously. "Just because I beat you in ramen-eating yesterday doesn't give you the right to—"

"OW, that hurts, Momo-senpai!" the freshman yelled, struggling to be freed from his cheek-pinching friend. He rubbed his sore cheeks when the taller boy let go. "Che, I can beat you in tennis any day…" he mumbled under his breath.

"What?!" Momoshiro glared, hearing something he shouldn't have heard. "Bring it on, Echizen!"

The freshman grinned, pulling his white cap lower over his eyes. "Fine by me," he muttered, "how about we settle this with tennis?" He handed over the dark blue TennisBall to his senpai.

Before Oishi could move to stop their fighting, Momoshiro had already taken the beeping object in his hand, squeezing it tightly and bouncing it once on the ground. Unfortunately for him, as he did so, he accidently activated the center button and unleashed the blue morphing light from it. Echizen grinned triumphantly. "Now then, Momo-senpai," he said once his own vision was filled with nothing but blue, "if you don't say 'Dark Blue TennisBall power make up', you will die within ten seconds."

"What!" Momo yelped, trying in vain to see past the blinding light. "What do you mean I will die? I haven't even eaten my daily portion of burgers today!"

"Nine… eight… seven…" Echizen did the countdown just to stress his senpai further.

Oishi was starting to panic now. "Momo! Say it, please, for the love of…"

"Nya Momo! Hurry up and say it!" Eiji cut him off.

"Six… five… four…" Echizen mumbled, lowering his cap further over his eyes to hide his growing grin.

Momoshiro, too stressed to care, sank to his knees and lifted his hands in the air in defeat. "God, please make my death less difficult because I don't deserve a painful death! I just hope there are burgers in heaven and…"

"JUST SAY IT!" Echizen finally snapped.

"Dammit, Echizen, I haven't finished my prayers!" Momoshiro yelled back from somewhere amidst the blinding light. "… and tell my family to bury me next to the burger shop with a large portion of Double Big Macs stuffed in the coffin for the afterlife…"

Echizen sighed in exasperation. "Three… two… one… Come on, Momo-senpai, we're tired of waiting!" he coaxed.

"Okay, okay, I'm done!" the loud mouthed second year finally said. "Geez, doing all this so that I can say 'Dark Blue TennisBall power make up'…"

Oishi and Kikumaru let out a relieved sigh as Momoshiro began to morph. They grinned at each other, noticing how in synch they were even without their hearts as one. Echizen, himself, was completely exhausted and his legs were threatening to give out on him. God his senpai was an idiot… an idiot… his mind kept repeating like a mantra.

As the heavy blue light faded, Momoshiro was clad in metallic armor, with a long, regal spear held in one gloved hand and a sapphire shield in the other. He had no helmet, but a small dagger was hidden somewhere behind his shield. He blinked at his weird, medieval-style costume and smiled sheepishly. "So… I'm not dead?" he asked finally, slightly baffled with the turn of events.

Echizen motioned for his two other senpai, that were watching the events unfold from the background, to step up and transform as well. Kikumaru volunteered to go first, stretching his nimble arm in the air and pressing his own red charm to morph. "Red TennisBall power make up!" he cheered, and within half a minute he was back into his red mini-skirt, his white sailor uniform and his soft ballerina slippers. The red ribbon on the right side of his hair gently flowed in the wind as he pulled his white gloves higher on his forearm. Momoshiro gaped at him, his watering mouth falling to the floor. "A SKIRT?!" the second year finally yelled. Oh no, now he definitely did NOT want to see what kind of costume Oishi-senpai had.

Just as he thought that, the vice-captain also pressed his own grey TennisBall and changed despite being much less flashy than his doubles partner. As a thick cloud of smoke escaped the TennisBall, Momoshiro seriously considered closing his eyes and pretending this was all a dream. 'God, please don't let Oishi-senpai wear a skirt… please don't let him wear it…' he silently prayed. When the smog dissipated, Oishi was back in his foreseer's costume, with a grey cloak and a cap that seriously reminded Momoshiro of those weird and creepy fortune-tellers he often saw in comic books. The wooden stick and the transparent glass ball did not help him dismiss the image at all. "Uh… nice?" he said finally, not sure how to compliment the vice-captain for his unique costume.

"Welcome back, Sailor Kikumaru, Fighter Momoshiro and Foreseer Oishi," Echizen said finally, once again bringing all their attention on him. Kikumaru grinned and latched on his partner's arm while Momoshiro wondered what in the world was going on.

"You used to live in a future a thousand years from now…" Echizen began his tale, "on Earth, with my father and his Royal Guardian, Oishi-senpai. There was a very serious war raging between the Earth and the moon, and to stop it, the king on Earth decided to marry his son—my father—to the princess of the moon. And that's how Tezuka-buchou got to know my mother…"

"BUCHOU IS YOUR FATHER?!" Momoshiro asked rather loudly. Echizen nodded and continued his tale.

"Father and mother seldom got to see each other because it was forbidden for Earthrions to enter the moon. That is why she and Kikumaru-senpai sneaked out of the moon's Royal Palace to go meet Buchou and his Royal Guardian to play…"

"HOLY COW, BUCHOU IS MARRIED?!" Momoshiro screamed again. Echizen sighed and nodded in exasperation.

"And when finally mother and father fell in love—"

"WHAT THE HECK, BUCHOU HAS FEELINGS?!" the second year once more cut him off.

"Dammit Momo-senpai, would you just let me finish?!" Echizen yelled back in frustration. He tried to ignore his sniggering redheaded senpai in the background. Momoshiro nodded finally, even though he had difficulty processing all the extraordinary information.

"As I said," Echizen resumed, "they fell in love—shut up, Momo-senpai—and father decided to go live on the moon with mother. He brought along three of his bodyguards. One of them is Oishi-senpai, the second one is you, and the third one still unknown for now. You were the only ones that were given such a privilege so the other Earthrions got jealous and killed their king to try and take possession of the moon. When they managed their way to the moon, they killed mother's parents as well as many innocent villagers. To stop the massacre, mother had to temporarily freeze time's flowing, and only those who had strong magical powers such as you were not affected. To change the devastating future that Oishi-senpai saw in a dream, you had to return to the past. That is why you are here right now, to fight the Rudolphians invading Earth."

There was a moment of dead silence as Momoshiro continued to stare at Echizen. "Er… okay… so we have to fight a bunch of bad guys in our weird costumes?" he asked when he was in control of his voice once more.

"Yes, and we need to collect two more TennisBalls to be a complete team. And in order to get them, we must fight the Rudolphians…" Echizen trailed off… and grinned. "Speak of the devil," he began, as the rooftop's ground began shaking under their feet.

Momoshiro glanced around, seeing purple snowflakes falling from the sky wherever he looked. He stared at his two senpai in wonder; both of them were already crouched into their battle positions. Evil laughter resounded from everywhere at the same time, and right before his eyes, a Rudolphian appeared.

His skin was tanned and dark brown hair fell in front of his eyes on each side of his face. He had a nasty grin plastered on his face as he advanced towards the Magical fighters. "Well well, isn't that the acrobatic redhead that Atsushi lost to?" he smiled wickedly and pointed at Kikumaru. Oishi subconsciously stepped closer to his doubles partner. "Oh, I see you have a new member on your team, hmm?" he then pointed towards Momoshiro.

"Who are you?" Echizen demanded, totally ignoring him.

The Rudolphian pressed his thumb on his chest haughtily and declared himself as the strongest of all Rudolphians. "I am Akazawa Yoshirou, and here is my puppet, Nomura. To me, he plays the same role as Kisarazu's headband. But I warn you, we are a much stronger pair." A smaller figure, also clad in Saint Rudolph's brown and white uniform, appeared from behind Akazawa. He had short hair and freckles all over his face, and was just barely taller than Echizen himself.

Too shocked to move, Momoshiro stood rooted on the spot. The golden pair stared at each other in the eyes, trying to tune in to each other and connect their hearts in the meanwhile. Noticing the change in the color of Kikumaru's red TennisBall, Akazawa quickly gestured for his puppet to break their transformation. Nomura launched himself at Oishi, aiming at his throat. He reached his victim just in time, right before their change completed. When he ferociously bit down at the foreseer's throat, he successfully disrupted their morphing and the half-golden TennisBall returned to its original red color. Oishi cried out in pain.

"Not again! Oishi!" Kikumaru wailed and kneeled next to his wounded doubles partner.

"Mizuki was right…" Akazawa muttered to himself, "if the golden pair isn't in sync, they are as good as dead. Enough, Nomura!" he said when Oishi was panting restlessly in pain on the floor. "Get that newbie over there!"

"Fight him, Momo-senpai!" Echizen ordered suddenly, bringing Momoshiro out of his trance. As Nomura tackled him, Momoshiro tried his best to ward him off. He struck with his long spear, gradually getting used to the heavy weapon. His instincts were telling him to fight for his life or die.

"Kikumaru-senpai, let go of Oishi-senpai and use your TennisBall to help Momo-senpai instead!" Echizen then told him. He pressed his racket-shaped pendant that he always wore around his neck with both palms, muttering some incomprehensible magic words. Right before Kikumaru's eyes, the pendant grew larger and larger, until it reached the size of a normal tennis racket, where its sprout ended. Echizen handed him the magic item and Kikumaru caught it in a second.

The acrobat wiped away his tears and stood up, glaring daggers at Nomura for hurting his Oishi. He launched his TennisBall in the air, hitting it at full force towards where Nomura was attacking Momo. But just before his TennisBall could connect with the stupid Rudolphian's body, Akazawa asked Nomura to retreat so that the attack would hit Momoshiro. Indeed, the latter was projected a few feet back from the sheer power of Kikumaru's blow, even with his shield held protectively in front of him.

"NO! Momo!" Eiji cried and ran toward the collapsed second year.

"Don't turn your back on your enemy!" Echizen screamed helplessly at the acrobat, but it was too late. Nomura had attacked again, at the speed of light, and was now latching onto Kikumaru's throat. "Nyaaa!" Eiji wailed in pain and before long, he was lying on the ground as well.

Akazawa was laughing like a maniac by then. "Good! Good! I can feel the power flowing in me!" he said deliriously. "Get that newbie, Nomura! And then that helpless freshman there! Yes! I can almost taste victory!"

Echizen glanced around desperately for help. Dammit, where was his father when he needed him the most?! Now, even Momo-senpai was going to perish! "MOMO-SENPAI, GET YOUR ASS UP AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!" Echizen snapped, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. 'Please, please… get up, Momo-senpai…' he prayed silently.

Nomura grabbed Momoshiro's sapphire shield and threw it randomly across the rooftop. He leaned down to the second year's throat and, just as he was about to bite, a sharp pain tore at his stomach. He growled, jumped back a few meters, and clutched at his wounded belly.

Momoshiro clumsily stood back up, stumbling here and there, and grinned at the freshman. A silver dagger dyed in the Rudolphian's blood rested in his hand instead of the shield. "What are you… freaking out about… Echizen?" he asked in between pants and smiled reassuringly at his underclassman. "I like the shield, it's quite efficient… and this armor protects the body really well too…" he continued to pant.

Akazawa, who hadn't predicted such a clever feint attack, asked Nomura to retreat. The puppet bowed and disappeared once more into his shadow. "Hm… not bad, for an amateur," he mock-praised the second year, "but you are now too weak to even handle your spear. You are nothing compared to me!" Faster than ever, the Rudolphian launched himself at Momoshiro and knocked the dagger out of his hand. Akazawa pinned him to the ground despite all the struggling and lowered his head to drink his blood.

A red rose slashed his cheek open before he could even drink in the second gulp. Growling, the tanned Rudolphian abruptly stood up to face his new opponent. He glared at the figure that stood next to the rooftop's door.

A soft air of violin played as the Magical Buchou, clad in his Tuxedo Mask uniform, began his speech. "Exploiting their weaknesses and collecting their power for evil; your acts are unforgivable! In the name of Tennis, I shall punish you!"

Akazawa bared his teeth at his newest enemy, slightly surprised at the strong Magical aura the masked man was emitting. He then glanced at his feet, where Momoshiro lay powerless, and in a moment of cleverness, he grabbed his victim by the collar of his armor and threw him over the rooftop's fence. "Ha ha! What will you do, now that your fellow teammate is going to die?!" he yelled maniacally.

"MOMO-SENPAI!" Echizen called desperately, running towards the edge of the roof and staring down in a desperate attempt to see where Momoshiro was.

Tezuka glared murderously at the laughing Rudolphian and stepped aside to reveal a very shocked Kawamura behind him. "Surrender now," he told Akazawa, "you are fighting one against two and are at a disadvantage."

"NEVER!" the Rudolphian screamed, tackling a very confused Kawamura. While they struggled for dominance, Tezuka quickly hid the Golden Pair's unconscious bodies in a corner of the rooftop. He then looked down, searching for any signs of Momoshiro who had fallen off. When he turned around to help Kawamura fight off the Rudolphian, a bright blue light flashed from the burning player's axes, blinding every single one of them with its radiance. When it disappeared, Tezuka was surprised to see that Kawamura had entered burning mode.

"HEY, HEY, COME ON BABY! FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!" Takashi swung his axes and a mystic blue light slashed Akazawa across the cheek. He swung again, and the mystic blue light thrashed open Akazawa's forearm. The Rudolphian cried out in pain and, seeing that he was losing ground, disappeared with a clap of his hands.

Kawamura sunk to his knees, panting and sweating from his tremendous release of energy. Tezuka nodded to him in a silent congratulation. Kawamura flushed a little and stood back up to tend to the Golden Pair. When he gently shook them, they both woke up from their state of unconsciousness, having recovered enough from their blood loss with time. Immediately, the three of them joined Tezuka and asked what happened.

But before any of them could say a thing, Echizen snapped out of his state of complete shock and ran towards the exit. "Momo-senpai… please be okay!"

The rest of the team followed the freshman after transforming back into their school uniform, ignoring the weird stares they were getting from the other students. By the time the normal humans had woken up from the purple snowflake-induced slumber, it was already lunch time.

And when they finally located Momoshiro, it was to find the second year sleeping on the grass right under the rooftop from where he had fallen, with the same mystic blue light that came out of Kawamura's axes protectively surrounding his body. He was snoring loudly and mumbling about burgers, clad in his school uniform and without any trace of wounds on his skin. Echizen had been relieved to find him alive and apparently very well, but the aura that the mystic blue light emitted was strangely compelling to him. Perhaps a little too compelling for his taste.

From a hidden corner, a silhouette spied on them with a grin on his face and a notebook in his hand.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

Mizuki grinned at Akazawa from his throne. "Congratulations, you have passed the test."

Akazawa bowed.

"Now you shall go treat your wounds and prepare for the upcoming battle. We will need as much strength on our side as possible…" Mizuki continued, "to capture Fuji Syuusuke."

"Fuji Syuusuke?!" Akazawa couldn't help but question. "Why him?"

Mizuki twirled a lock of his hair on his index finger and chuckled. "Well, from what you have collected of the other Magical fighter's blood, we know that Fuji Syuusuke's power exceeds them by far and regenerates faster than light…"

Realization dawned on Akazawa. "And if we have him in our hands, we will have all the strength we need for eternity!"

"Nfu, exactly. Now, prepare the other soldiers for the fight that is going to take place!"

Akazawa bowed again, and retreated with an evil grin on his face despite his wounds.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

After a rather long explanation of the events delivered by Echizen to the Magical soldiers in private, the regulars sat together, at lunch time, to eat their food. Kikumaru and Oishi, despite still being somewhat tired, chatted together while Inui and Kaidoh ate in silence comfortably settled next to each other. Echizen and Momoshiro, who had forgotten the second half of their heated battle against the Rudolphian, were having a 'who-will-eat-the-most-food-the-fastest' contest. Fuji just silently smiled, seated between Kawamura and Tezuka, keeping an eye on his teammates and surprisingly oblivious to all the secret glances the burning player was sending his way.

"Ne, Tezuka, did you see the tennis ball I hid in your pocket?" he murmured in his childhood friend's ear.

Tezuka tensed up briefly before glaring at Fuji. "You were the one behind all this?" he asked incredulously.

Fuji cocked his head to one side, feigning innocence. "Do you still have it?" the prodigy asked instead of answering.

To his complete surprise, Tezuka shook his head no. "I gave it to Kawamura," he answered stoically.

Fuji's eyes snapped open as he felt a sudden stab of pain. It was as if Tezuka had just punched him in the stomach and ripped his heart apart. "I never knew you could be so heartless, Tezuka," Fuji said, his bangs shadowing his eyes. Eight pairs of eyes stared at him in wonder. The rest of the regulars suddenly stopped their small talk and were paying full attention to him.

Brows furrowing, Tezuka too stared at Fuji questioningly. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

"If you never wished for my company ever since we were young, you could have just told me so!" Fuji said, his fists shaking and his voice trembling. "If you didn't like me ever since the beginning, you could have just pushed me away once and for all!" Fuji then abruptly stood up and stormed off, leaving his food and eight very flustered regulars behind. It had been, after all, the only time they had seen Fuji openly displaying his anger at Tezuka.

Too shocked to react, the captain could only stare as Fuji walked away from him without once turning back. It was Kawamura who ran after the prodigy instead, but Fuji had just smiled sadly and refused his comforting presence.

It was only much later that day, when Kawamura was comfortably settled in his bed and thinking about Fuji (like he did every night before falling asleep), that he noticed the doodles in permanent marker on his yellow TennisBall. There was a smiling face, a heart and an autograph on it.

It was signed: '_With love, Fuji Syuusuke'_

Kawamura flushed crimson and dreamt about his secret crush that night, because he did not know that the message was meant for another.

~To Be Continued~

* * *

**A/N: **BUAHAHA! So much confusion and one failed confession! And even a love triangle!! XD Don't worry though, the mysteries (and of course Tezuka and Fuji's small lovers' spat) will be cleared out next chapter! Stay tuned, and don't forget, reviews and criticism fill my soul! :D If you have any question/concern/insecurity, do ask me without hesitation!

**Preview for the next chapter: **Seeing as the Husband and the Wife weren't on friendly terms anymore, Kikumaru, Oishi and Momoshiro decided to force Tezuka to take Fuji out on a date and get them to kiss by the end of the day… What could possibly go wrong?


	7. Kiss him, Buchou!

I'm very sorry for the long wait! I'm not abandoning this series for those wondering! I was just... I drifted away a little from the fandom... but now I'm back and in full spirits! Please cheer me on! *Bows*

**tokyo girl 05: **XD Don't we just all love Momo? Thank you so much for reading! And definitely, I'll pair poor Taka-san with someone at the end...

**yoshikochan: **Thank you so much for the praise! *Goes into hiding* I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well! ^^ (Oh yes, I love everyonexFuji but Tezuka just has to win his heart in the end!)

**AniManGa19930: **Fuji owns all and everything in the universe. XDDD And Tezuka owns Fuji and keeps Fuji for himself. Ahaha I love Momo. He's such fun to toy with! As for Taka-san, he'll find his other half soon, promise! For now though, he's still very in love with Fuji... ^^;; Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

**jadefuji: **Hehe you just got the colors wrong! But I was really surprised you got both characters right! XD You're really good at guessing! I'm sorry for this late chapter... but yes, Tezuka and Fuji will reconcile! ^^

**wara ningyo: **Ehehe Momo-chan is really fun to toy with! As for Fuji... Well, Fuji is a mystery for now! His identity will be revealed soon enough! Thank you so much for the wonderful encouragement! I'll be sure to update soon! Please enjoy this chapter in the mean time! ^^

**amynaoko: **Thank you so much! Hehe I hope you don't mind I took the bathtub idea? I credited you for the idea in the disclaimer! ^^ Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

**YaoiFanaticFreak: **Poor poor Taka-san! He'll find no comfort for the coming chapters... let's all hope the best for him alright? *Cheers!*

**BleuFleur: **They kill your senses. Exams are really the worst! _ I'm glad for the acceptable grades I got though, thanks to all the time I used for studying.  
Wow... I'm very surprised at your perceptiveness! Yes, the deep rivalry has something to do with Taka-san's split personality, but that shall not be elaborated on for now! As for TakaxFuji, I don't really see it either... it doesn't feel right because Taka-san is such a gentle soul and even though I think Fuji will do no harm to his friends whatsoever, his sadistic side just doesn't complement Taka-san's personality. Tezuka, however, being the stone he is, needs a little spice in his life which Fuji will gladly provide him. This is why I think they are one of the most... well-matched pair I've ever seen.  
As for the TennisBalls' color... Taka-san in of course yellow for sunshine! As for why Momoshiro with dark blue, it's because I really couldn't think of anything else. Inui's color has already been decided on and Kaidoh's as well. The only color remaining was blue and I thought it would fit Momo's playful yet strong nature.  
Echizen... I sometimes love him and I sometimes hate him. His arrogance gets to me but he's not such a bad character if it weren't for that. He definitely needs more friends and Momo makes the perfect camarade for him! And it's exactly because of his actions, which are so much like his father's, that he is more attracted to his mother. I believe that opposites attract.  
The blue light... always there, yet so mysterious. ^^  
Yes, I'm glad you noticed the parallel with Seigaku's matches with St-Rudolph! The following chapters will not be linked anymore though, because the fighting will become more intense and St-Rudolph wasn't proved to be a very strong opponent in the anime...  
Inui's character will come in as a surprise as well! At least I hope so... ^^;; Kaidoh is oblivious as he always is!  
I hope you enjoyed beta-ing this chapter as well! I'm really infinitely grateful to everything you've done for me! *Bows low*

**Urchin Power: **Thank you so so much! It always makes me happy to know the characters are as IC as they can be! I believe it's the best compliment one can make to a fanfiction author! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter of madness as well!

**lachrymosa13blue: **Thanks so much! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well! PS: where have you been? I missed reading your fics! D:

**LoveChronicles: **LOL Here's the date! XD And lol! The Burger syndrome... Momo surely has it! Please enjoy the read!

**Tezuka Fuji: **Thanks for supporting me till now anonymous reader! :) Gomen Echizen never meant to be the lead character. I hope this chapter will make it up to you!

**shourin: **LOL! Anything could go wrong indeed! But hey, it's their date and we know first dates are meant to be ruined by evil evil Rudolphians! XD And no, nothing is coincidence. Always a reason behind everything. Hope you like this long-awaited chapter as well!

**isumi 'kivic': **Thank you so, so, so much for your encouraging comments! *Hugs to death* I missed you!! Where were you all this time? I really missed your writing style! I'm glad you happen to like this series! I'm really sorry for the long wait but here is chapter seven! And yes, the plot must become more and more serious, but crack shall always be there! As for Fuji's mischief, poor Fuji... but hey, he gets to have a date with Tezuka! XD I think that can make it up to him, right? Poor Taka-san though! I'm sure he'll find happiness as well! Please do enjoy this new chapter as well and I'm sorry for the long wait!

**sapphire feathers: **Thank you very very much for your comment! I'm sorry, I had drifted away from the fandom with all the school paper works that piled up. I wasn't waiting for comments to be submitted... I just... I didn't find the courage to continue for a while. I hope this lengthy chapter will make up for the long wait! Thanks to all the encouragement I received, I felt like I will get myself back on track and finish this chapter once and for all! Thank you so much for your kind words again! *Bows*

**

* * *

Title:** Tales of the Magical Buchou [Arc I: The intrusion of the Rudolphians]**  
Rating: **PG-13.  
**Pairing: **ZukaFuji, with Golden pair.**  
Summary: **Seeing as the Husband and the Wife weren't on friendly terms anymore, Kikumaru, Oishi and Momoshiro decided to force Tezuka to take Fuji out on a date and get them to kiss by the end of the day… What could possibly go wrong?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters and the story background was inspired by Sailor Moon. Tezuka owns Fuji and Fuji owns all. Pillar pair should go rot in hell… Oh, and the Tezuka sleeping in the bathtub idea, I took it from **amynaoko** thanks to a comment she left! It's not mine!

**IMPORTANT A/N: **As I re-read the chapters before, I noticed something I did not explain well…

**First of all**, the Magical soldiers' magic powers are stored in their TennisBalls. Everyone should know that.

**Second,** after releasing their power from the TennisBalls, it begins flowing in their blood, thus making their atoms become Magical Atoms. I think people figured that out as well.

**Now comes the tricky part:** when the Rudolphians drink their blood, they 'drain' their powers as well (since their powers are stored in their blood), therefore the Magical Soldiers cannot stay in their magic costumes anymore. But they will not die from losing all their powers; those regenerate after some time, as explained in chapter 5. However, if the Rudolphians drink too much of their blood, they CAN eventually die of blood loss like any normal human could. **Thus, even if Fuji loses all his magical abilities, he can regenerate those fast, but if a Rudolphian drinks too much of his blood, he could die at some point. **

Now that's done with, on to the long-awaited chapter seven!

All the thanks go to my two best betas in the world **Lovefujitez **for the first part of the story and **BleuFleur **for the latter part (because I am so stupid and so slow that I need two betas to finish a chapter… I'm immensely sorry!)

**~ Tales of the Magical Buchou ~**_  
Chapter seven: Kiss Him, Buchou!_

It was upon a cold night like this, where everything seemed to freeze into place despite the previous morning's heat, that they had committed their first sin together. Outside, the imperial blue sky glowed under the blinking stars and the bright moonlight. A figure hid silently amidst the shadows cast by a brick wall, looking nervously around for any signs of threat. Pressing his body against the protective fortification, he sighed quietly to calm his racing heart. When he regained his senses, he glanced sideways, making sure his partner was still beside him, and linked their warm fingers together. Nodding consecutively in understanding, they both positioned themselves to make a mad dash towards Seishun Gakuen's tennis club locker room. They were sure that they would be able to pull this off together. Counting to three under their breaths, they then ran in sync towards the small cabin when they were sure no one was in sight to catch them in the middle of their scheming. The tallest of the two fumbled nervously with the doorknob, dropping his keys several times before finally managing to slam the door open none too gently and slipping inside the dark room. The door was hastily closed behind them and they were glad that no one had seen them commit such a sin in the middle of the night.

"We made it, Oishi!" Kikumaru's cheerful voice exclaimed once they were sure they were away from prying ears.

The other sighed, wiping off the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead from the excitement. He then grinned good-naturedly at his partner and gave him a thumbs-up. "I never thought that I would one day break the rules and barge in the club room like this…" he murmured silently and then reluctantly added: "… but if it's for you, I guess it's fine for this once."

The red head regarded him with his head gently tilted in wonder. "But we aren't doing this for me, Oishi, we are doing it for Buchou and Fujiko!" He paused for a while before adding: "And I don't think that sneaking in the clubroom at night to talk could be considered as a sin, nya."

Oishi brought a hand to the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Er… well, I was sort of doing it for you since you proposed it, but, hum... never mind, I guess," he babbled out.

Blinking twice and slightly baffled, Kikumaru then decided to drop the matter. He grinned, his usual cheerfulness returning at full blast. "You are so weird, Oishi, but I like you just like that!" he admitted shamelessly.

The vice-captain blushed before skillfully changing the subject. "So… what are we going to do about Fuji and Tezuka?"

"Nya, isn't it obvious Oishi! We are going to force them out on a date so that they can make it up to each other! I don't want Fuji to be upset like that because he can be really scary when he wants to…" the red head trailed off. He pouted slightly and directed his puppy eyes at his partner. "And he's my friend, so I hate it when he's sad like that. I've never seen him so… pained before, and it hurts me here," he took Oishi's hands in his own and pressed it against his chest, where his heart beat underneath. The vice-captain blushed furiously, but Kikumaru did not notice it, so absorbed he was in his emotions. "Buchou can be really mean and inconsiderate sometimes, so I always worry about Fujiko since he's always so concerned about him."

Oishi was speechless for a minute or two. He had never seen his doubles partner showing his deepest worries so openly before. He stared numbly at his hand resting on Kikumaru's chest, and felt how fast the other's heart was beating. He silently snaked his arms around his friend's frail shoulders and brought their bodies close. Staring at Eiji's surprised aquamarine eyes, he then instinctively bent down in order to lock their lips together. He shut his eyes tight, preparing himself for what was to come. He briefly pondered if Eiji's lips were as soft as he imagined they would be…

Suddenly, the door slammed open. Oishi immediately detangled himself from his partner and stared dumbly at the newcomer.

"Gah! I'm so sorry for intruding! I'll leave right now!" Momoshiro squealed before making a U-turn and dashing out in the cold night, his cheeks burning red. But before he could escape very far, Kikumaru had caught him in a flash and dragged him back to the clubroom. Momo protested wildly, arms flailing about in all directions. "Let me go, Eiji-senpai! I don't want to be the third wheel! It's too painful to watch since I'm still single!"

"Stop complaining Momo," Eiji pouted and slammed the door shut behind them once they were back inside. He then took care to lock the room securely to prevent them from being interrupted again. "And you were the one who accepted to help us plan a date for Tezuka and Fujiko," the redhead argued.

"But I didn't know you and Oishi-senpai were involved at that time!" the loud second year protested.

"We are not!" Eiji whined. "Oishi is my partner in crime and that's that. Happy now?"

Momoshiro stared at the vice-captain, then at the acrobat. Seeing as they were in a quite awkward situation, he laughed to ease the tension. "Ah… maybe we should start planning then, before morning comes and Buchou finds us here…"

Kikumaru agreed hastily, nodding his head up and down in excitement. They settled on the floor, scheming and planning shamelessly. Oishi stared at them with watchful eyes, smiling dejectedly and ignoring as best as he could the pain in his heart. So they were just partners in crime… he thought wistfully. Well, at least they were something. A selfish part of him was jealous of Tezuka and Fuji's close relationship as childhood friends, jealous of the fact that he wasn't as close to his doubles partner as he thought he was, jealous that they did not understand each other (when they weren't in sync —which was, according to him, most of the time) as naturally as Tezuka and Fuji made it look like in their own relationship.

He was brought back from his running thoughts when his partner tackled him, saying his name delightfully. "Oishi, Oishi! Me and Momo found a really good plan to get Tezuka and Fuji back together!"

Oishi chuckled forcefully to hide his pain. "Congratulations, Eiji! What is your ingenious plan?"

Momoshiro joined them and proudly stated their plan. "We are going to trick Buchou into going out on a date with Fuji-senpai…"

"And force them to kiss by the end of the day, nya!" Kikumaru finished for him. They both flashed their brilliant smile at Oishi, who had to squint to see past the brightness.

"Er… and how do you guys plan to trick Tezuka? I mean, he's really smart even though he doesn't show it so much —not that he actually shows anything on his face, but that's beside the point, ahem— and I don't think it's a good idea to play pranks on him, unless you want to run laps…" Oishi rambled on, worrying about small nothings as he always did.

Kikumaru and Momoshiro shared knowing grins and swiftly cut the vice-captain mid-sentence. "But if Buchou enjoys himself, he won't be able to punish us right?" they chorused melodically. "So we just have to make sure he is happy with Fujiko!" Eiji reasoned, Momo nodding incessantly to emphasize his point. "And if Buchou is in a good mood, he might even be less severe at practice!" Momo shouted delightfully.

"Er…" Oishi tried to protest, but seeing the hopeful gleam in Kikumaru and Momoshiro's eyes, his worries died in his throat. "I guess… that's fine…" he said reluctantly, instead.

"Alright!" the redhead and the powerhouse shouted.

And so, the scheming began. Oishi silently wondered if it was the right choice to make them plan everything out.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

As soon as morning came, Kikumaru and Momoshiro were running about the school, shouting to everyone that afternoon practice for the tennis club was canceled due to undefined reasons. They paraded about the canteen, making sure beforehand that Tezuka was nowhere in sight, screaming so loudly that even those who had nothing to do with the club knew of the morning news. They then stumbled towards the classrooms, making sure every single member of the tennis club, except Tezuka, was aware of the last minute cancelation. When they finished venturing across the entire school twice, they joined a depressed Oishi behind the Sakura trees near the tennis courts. Smirking and slightly panting due to the running and screaming, Kikumaru and Momoshiro sat down on the grass from where they could spy on the others while remaining hidden from prying eyes. It was Oishi who broke the silence first.

"I told Ryuusaki-sensei that no one would be available for practice tonight due to a group outing…" he confessed uneasily. "She told me that it would still be held for the little members that could come… I can't believe I lied to her! As the vice-captain, how can I so easily be manipulated into…"

Oishi was interrupted in the middle of his ramblings when Momoshiro and Kikumaru shared a 'high-five'. "Awesome! Now all we have to do is wait for the afternoon to come and then trick Buchou into taking Fuji out!" said Eiji.

They chatted a while longer to perfect their plans after school before skipping in the clubroom (Oishi had the keys) for morning practice. Eiji hugged Fuji tightly when he appeared —alone since he refused to have anything to do with Tezuka— and murmured in his ear that he wanted to take Fuji to the ice cream parlor after class since practice was canceled. Fuji accepted without a second thought, as long as he could be as far away from his childhood friend as possible. When Tezuka finally made an appearance in the clubroom, five minutes later than usual from being held up by the student council's vice-president, Oishi handed him a note in which it said that he had some important matters to discuss with him at that park where they sold a large varieties of ice creams near the school. Tezuka wanted to refuse the invitation for he did not wish to miss out on afternoon practice, but before he could utter a word, Oishi was nowhere in sight.

Needless to say that Tezuka was quite surprised that afternoon, as he found himself standing alone in the middle of the courts. A gush of wind ruffled his chestnut hair, making him shiver. Pushing his glasses up his nose bridge in annoyance, he sighed and went to change out of his jersey. He was shocked to find a note that had not been there previously resting innocently in his locker. Flipping it open, he carefully read its contents.

_Come to the ice cream parlor near the park;_

_There, you will find happiness in your heart._

_And if you dare kiss him by the end of the day,_

_Forever with you, he shall stay._

_Sincerely,_

_Your angel guardians._

Tezuka's eyebrow rose in wonder. The only thing that made his heart feel contented was Fuji, he told himself, and there was no way, after their argument, that Fuji would want to face him so soon. It was yesterday night, he recalled, that Fuji had kicked him off the bed and nearly made him sleep in the bathtub. Fuji fundamentally refused to talk to him, even if it was a few words, and did his best to avoid staying in the same room as him for more than a few seconds. At night, Fuji would return early to their dorm and occupy both their beds with his belongings in order to torture him. In the morning, his nicknamed wife would lock himself in the bathroom just to miss slamming the door on Tezuka's nose when he suddenly burst out.

Recalling his frustrations and Fuji's emotional tantrums, Tezuka let out a tiny smile in a moment of carelessness. He wondered how he could always cope with his childhood friend's whims so good-naturedly. He sighed softly, hoping that Fuji's anger would die out soon; he was tired of always having Fuji's piercing eyes filled with hate fixing his back. Meanwhile, he took the small note in his hand and walked steadily towards the park, oblivious to the pair of glinting eyes watching his every movement.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

"He's coming, he's coming!" Momoshiro screamed, ducking behind a small bush.

"Shush, Momo! They will hear you!" Kikumaru whispered, pulling his two partners in crime down.

The powerhouse was still panting slightly from all the running he did. As soon as he was sure his captain would follow the instructions on the note they left him, he sprinted towards the park to inform his upperclassmen, who were already positioned to take action. "How is Fuji-senpai faring?" he asked between pants. "I hope he's not getting impatient… Gah, I hope this will work… I'm not ready to die yet!"

Eiji nodded and sympathized with him. "I told Fujiko to sit on the bench there," he gestured to where Fuji was waiting, right in front of them, "and that I would be back with the ice creams." He paused, breathing in deeply to calm himself down. "Nya, what's taking Buchou so long? If Fujiko finds out, I'm going to die!"

"Calm down, Eiji… look, Tezuka's coming!" Oishi said as soothingly as he could. Despite his title as the vice-captain, he knew he could not escape the fearful wrath if their plans failed. He bit his lower lip, hoping everything would go well.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

Tezuka looked around, trying to find a familiar face, only to lock his eyes with Fuji's opened ones once they were a few feet apart. Without another thought, the honey-haired youth stood up and stormed off angrily once his brain registered the fact that he had been tricked into meeting Tezuka, the one who had rejected him heartlessly. He clenched his hands into fists, trying to ignore the pain he felt and continued walking aimlessly in front of him. A large and urgent hand descended on his shoulder, pulling him back against a familiar chest. Fuji froze as a chill ran down his spine at the familiar touch. "What do you want?" he asked coldly, never turning around to face his nicknamed husband.

"Look in front of you," was all he received as a response. He reluctantly did as told, his heart skipping a beat as he noticed that he would have walked right into the river if Tezuka hadn't stopped him. Spinning around to face his savior, Fuji's eyes glinted with gratitude. "Thank yo…" he didn't get to finish his sentence, however, as he suddenly remembered the way Tezuka treated him a few days ago. Regaining his senses, he pushed Tezuka away and sat stubbornly on the grass, taking his sandals off and dipping his feet in the cool water. "Go away, it's not like you actually care about me anyway…" he muttered darkly.

Raising a playful eyebrow, Tezuka sat beside Fuji and stared at him in amusement. He noticed how his friend shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, something had that never happened before, and leaned in closer. "Fuji," he called, and said man tensed up in response, "why are you so angry at me?"

By then, Fuji had his back facing Tezuka. Taking a deep breath, he answered as steadily as possible, "why do you care? If you can't even understand why I'm upset…" Fuji's voice trailed off. He lifted his eyes up to the blue sky, void of clouds, watching as a soft wind brought flower petals swirling around the park. He could feel the warm sunrays warming his skin while the cool river refreshed his feet. He could see parents and children smiling happily as they played together and enjoyed their time. Beside him, the silent murmurs of the water stream reached his ears. At that moment, the loud brouhaha, the innocent gleefulness and the singing cicadas seemed so far away from him. As he closed his eyes once more, picturing at the back of his lids the ghost of a figure, a small child, grinning and running about the place with his arms spread in front of him.

"_Aniki, Aniki!"_

Snapping his eyes open once again, Fuji abruptly stood up and looked around. "Yuuta…" he whispered dejectedly as he realized that what he had seen had been the product of his imagination. When he sat back on the grass, he was startled when a large hand took hold of his own. A deep voice asked him if he was alright… and Fuji remembered that he had been with Tezuka. The small brunette fisted his free hand and clenched his teeth. "Tezuka… I really miss him, Tezuka…" he whispered as he gripped his childhood friend's hand tightly.

Tezuka, slightly taken aback, could only draw soothing circles on the back of Fuji's hand to ease the pain. "How is Yuuta-kun?" he ventured to ask once Fuji's death grip loosened.

"He's still in coma… we don't know when he will wake up again, but the doctor wants us to stay hopeful…" Fuji admitted. "I miss him... we used to play here together when we were young."

"That was before you met me," Tezuka stated.

Fuji nodded in response. "I first met you when we were seven… that's when Yuuta was still happy and lively."

Tezuka brought Fuji a little closer so that his friend rested on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he sincerely admitted.

"It's fine. I thought I was over it… but I guess it still haunts me sometime. That car crash two years ago is hardly forgettable. Yuuta has always been of a frail constitution."

Gently prying their hands apart, Tezuka stood up, urging Fuji to stay seated. "I'll go buy some ice cream," he offered. Fuji flashed a bright smile at him, silently telling him that he was forgiven. Tezuka left for the parlor with a nod and a small smile on his lips.

A shadow of a figure loomed above Fuji's head, his teeth glinting brightly as he grinned.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

Echizen ran around the streets of Tokyo, teeth clenched tightly together. Turning around a corner, the presence of the evil increased again. He could feel it, the gay-purple aura of a large group of Rudolphians becoming gradually stronger as he approached their hiding place. "Karupin," his cat meowed in response, "nimble feet, enabled," he pronounced. The Himalayan cat purred again, as a flash of light surrounded his sneakers. Echizen smirked, running towards a dark alley before bouncing up several meters in the air, and landing on the roof of Tokyo's buildings. He ran, unseen by the population, skipping from edifice to edifice towards his destination.

As he approached the park near Seishun Academy, his cat began growling. Echizen smirked, stopping abruptly on the closest building to the park. He scanned the streets below, and when he was sure there would be no one witnessing his supernatural stunt, he swiftly jumped off the roof, his cat towing behind him. In mid air, however, Karupin clung to his feet, entangling itself with his sneakers and messing with the light that enabled Echizen to run faster than normal human. "Wait, no… Karupin!" the freshman yelled, as a sense of déjà-vu hit him. He fell down the tall building, this time landing on poor Kawamura instead of his father.

A loud crash was heard as the collision took place. Sighing as dignifiedly as he could, Echizen removed himself from lying on top of his senpai and patted the dust off his shorts. He then glared at Karupin for making the same mistake every single time he tried to act cool. Kawamura, still bewildered, stood up from the ground and groaned in pain.

"Echizen?" he asked once he recognized his underclassman, his voice betraying his shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Transform now, Warrior Kawamura," the cocky brat commanded. "The Rudolphians are near, and there is more than one of them this time."

"Warrior…? Me?" the shy boy asked, frowning in wonder.

"Father told you about the story, didn't he?" when Kawamura nodded, the first year let out a relieved sigh and proceeded to make his story short. "What he couldn't tell you was that you are my mother's Sailor and friend. The Warrior was the one who was shy and friendly, and always loyal to my mother. He becomes, however, extremely violent when he holds his axes, and is without a doubt the strongest physically of the group," Echizen explained. "That sounds just like you, Kawamura-senpai."

The shy boy blushed slightly. "Ah… it does," he admitted.

"Good, now come, we must fight off the Rudolphians," Echizen urged. "Stupid Momo-senpai's never there when I need him…" he cursed under his breath.

Kawamura laughed nervously, but otherwise followed Echizen around the park in their search for the Rudolphians.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

"Thanks," Fuji muttered, accepting the ice cream cone his childhood friend handed him. Tezuka nodded as he sat himself once again beside Fuji, both watching peacefully the sparkles of sunlight dancing on the river's surface. Licking his ice cream contentedly, Fuji suddenly felt playful. He dipped his finger in his ice cream and then smeared some on Tezuka's cheek. He chuckled at the taller man's bewildered expression (which consisted of his eyes widening by a fraction, his brows knitting together and his frown deepening), and was about to lick it off when Tezuka fished a napkin from his pocket and wiped the cold substance away.

"What are you—" Tezuka barely managed to say when Fuji smudged some more ice cream with his finger on his face. Scowling, Tezuka once again wiped the offending cream off while his friend chuckled gleefully. He grabbed Fuji's hand and licked the rest of the ice cream off his fingers.

Frozen in shock at Tezuka's actions, Fuji could only blush as Tezuka let go of his hand and turned away.

A frustrated yelp resounded from behind the bushes. Kikumaru jumped wildly about, not even bothering to hide anymore, now that the mood was dead. Oishi and Momoshiro, both too scared to be found out, could only try to hold Kikumaru in place while remaining hidden from view as best as they could. "Eiji-senpai, please calm down!" Momoshiro hissed.

"Dammit Buchou, just kiss him already, nya!" the red head screamed, wriggling away from his partner and Momo's grasp.

"Eiji, please!" Oishi begged, successfully calming his hyperactive partner down by pulling him onto his lap. "Sit down and watch."

"Fine," Kikumaru pouted, settling down on Oishi's lap. Meanwhile, Momoshiro could only scoot away in discomfort.

Recovering from his previous shock when he heard his friends' voices, a sadistic streak once again hit Fuji. He dipped his index finger in the cold cream and splotched some on the corner of his lips. Seductive smile in place, he then called for his childhood friend to face him. When Tezuka turned around, he could hardly repress the chuckle that threatened to escape his throat. "Ne, I have some ice cream on my lips… lick it off for me?" he asked provocatively.

Taken aback, it took Tezuka a few seconds to register what Fuji had asked him to do. His eyes widened slightly and his heart began beating erratically. "Wha—" he began, but the small brunette cut him off.

"Hurry up, Tezuka. It's dripping…" Fuji pressed.

Behind the bushes, Oishi, Momo and Eiji were sending restless mind waves to Tezuka. They fidgeted, urging him to just kiss Fuji and get it over with already. "Come on, Buchou… it's not that hard… just lean in and…" Eiji whispered, hardly able to contain himself.

It seems his efforts were not wasted, for the distance between Tezuka and Fuji's lips was decreasing progressively. The bespectacled man shut his eyes tight when they were merely centimeters apart. He grabbed Fuji's hand tightly and parted his moist lips slightly in anticipation. He inhaled deeply, his heart was beating a mile a minute and his cheeks were burning. He could feel Fuji's hot breath on his skin and Fuji's slim fingers trembling under his clutch. Just a little more and their lips would collide…

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!"

Tezuka and Fuji parted abruptly, both their eyes snapping open in shock. Gay purple snowflakes began falling from the sky. A metallic crash resounded, and a man in a shiny golden armor stood in front of them. At once recognizing Kawamura in his Magical form, Tezuka stood up and stretched his arms to shield Fuji. "What's going on?" he asked.

Grunting, Kawamura pushed off Akazawa, who had been spying on them from the trees, with his two axes and turned to his captain. "Buchou, there's a gathering of Rudolphians! We must get the others…" Kawamura did not however get to finish his sentence, as Akazawa attacked again. He quickly used his axes to shield himself from the enemy's metallic spear.

Echizen rushed to them. "Get away from him, now!" the freshman screamed again, motioning for Tezuka to leave Fuji's side. "The Rudolphians are only after Fuji-senpai's powers. If we retreat now, we might make it back to the school unscarred."

Glaring, Tezuka stood close to Fuji. "I'm not leaving him here!"

Just then, Kawamura gave a loud yelp of pain as another Rudolphian tackled him. Akazawa and Nomura were both stabbing at the sushi chef's armor in an attempt to break it. Giving a particularly hard thrust of his spear, Akazawa managed to crack the metallic barrier.

"Dammit father, we need to retreat!" Echizen urged again.

"I won't leave Fuji alone here!" Tezuka insisted, fishing his crystal black TennisBall from his pocket as he started to feel sluggish from the snowflakes' magic. Just then, he felt cold and slightly shaking hands on his back, pushing him away. He turned around to face his childhood friend whose composed outward appearance betrayed none of the confusion he felt inside.

"Go, Tezuka. Don't mind me, I'll make it, somehow," Fuji told him shakily. He glanced at the familiar man clad in a golden armor and added: "Go before Taka-san gets injured!" which earned him a suspicious glare from Echizen.

But Tezuka was stubborn and unmindful of consequences as his situation prevented him from thinking elaborately any further. He lifted his crystal TennisBall in the air and transformed in an instant, his back turned from Fuji whose blue eyes were open and startled. Clad in his black tuxedo, he fished a rose from his inner shirt pocket and threw it towards Nomura. The Rudolphian yelped and backed away from Kawamura. Gritting his teeth in anger, Tezuka took another one of his deadly flowers out and was about to aim it at Akazawa when a red whip wrapped around his body. Tezuka glared at Kisarazu who stood a few feet away from him and had a nasty grin on his face.

"No…!" his future son whispered shakily.

Fuji's sudden cry of pain startled Tezuka greatly. The Magical Buchou struggled against the headband as he saw Yanagisawa feeding on his childhood friend's blood. The Rudolphians were now attacking them four against two. "Let him go!" the Magical commanded using his imperial voice. Just then, the red whip strangled his body as it began to glow, and he soon felt his powers slip away. His arms were starting to lose their strength as his knees began to give up on him. Kisarazu's grin widened as he brought the other end of his headband to his lips and drank in the flow of Magical essence.

Tezuka grunted, fighting helplessly against his drooping eyelids. "Fuji…" he whispered as his Magical attire began to fade away.

Suddenly, the red whip around his body was ripped into a million pieces and Tezuka managed to keep his eyes open as an ounce of power returned to him. He sank to his knees, his costume completely gone and turned around to see Momoshiro in his Magical form fighting Kisarazu off. "Buchou! We came to help you!" the powerhouse assured him as he struggled against the angry Rudolphian.

Glancing sideways, Tezuka saw the Golden pair fighting against Akazawa and Nomura. Kikumaru danced around the tanned Rudolphian and his puppet as Oishi tended to Kawamura's injuries. Echizen stood at the far right corner and was chanting the spell that would enable his racket pendant to grow in size.

The sound of Fuji collapsing brought his attention back to his childhood friend. Tezuka's eyes widened in horror as the lust-driven Yanagisawa drank so much of Fuji's blood that his skin blanched. The bespectacled man struggled to stand up, but his powers failed him. His body was shaking all over from being powerless in such a crucial battle moment. _Fuji!_, his mind screamed helplessly. He _needed _to stand up. He needed to tend to Fuji. He had to. He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes in desperation. If only he could get his powers back… if only he could…

A gush of urgent wind swirled around Tezuka's glowing body. The wind's speed increased violently, spinning fiercely like a tornado around his feet, causing his hair to fly about. Tezuka's eyes glinted dangerously black as he began transforming once more. Soon, he was clad in his midnight tuxedo again.

Feeling the sudden sprout of Magical energy within the bespectacled man, the others abruptly stopped their battles. Echizen's eyes widened as he recognized the change in his father's dark orbs. "It's… it's father's Tezuka Zone!" he cried. "Father unleashed the Tezuka Zone!"

"What?" the Rudolphians and the Magical soldiers asked in unison.

"The Tezuka Zone can suck in Magical particles from his surroundings!" Echizen explained ecstatically. "Father's improved again!"

Indeed, the red rose Tezuka sent towards Yanagisawa thrashed him across the cheek, even as the Rudolphian drank a tremendous amount of Fuji's Magical essence-filled blood. Yanagisawa yelped and jumped back, leaving Fuji's unconscious body forgotten on the ground.

"Father!" Echizen called, throwing his normal-sized racket pendant towards him. "Finish them!"

Nodding, Tezuka threw his crystal black TennisBall in the air and sent it crashing towards Yanagisawa. Taking advantage of the Rudolphians' inattention, Momoshiro and Kikumaru both managed to injure their enemies with their own weapons. With a chorus of claps, the enemy retreated bitterly, but not without leaving a green TennisBall behind in their haste.

As soon as they were gone, Tezuka sank to his knees beside Fuji and gathered his lifeless body in his arms. "He…" the captain began, his back turned to the Magical soldiers to hide his pained expression. "He's still breathing faintly."

The others, save for Echizen, let out a sigh of relief. Kawamura grunted as he slowly sat up from his lying position. "Buchou, you told me last time that Magical essence helps to keep one alive while he recovers from blood loss," the warrior said.

Tezuka nodded. That was indeed what Fuji had done (although unconsciously) to help keep Oishi alive when Kisarazu had attacked them on Seishun Academy's rooftop.

"Then perhaps you should help Fujiko. You are the only one who has enough power left to transfer it…" Kawamura proposed hesitantly.

As realization dawned on him, Tezuka quickly lowered his lips to Fuji's, not wanting a single second to go to waste. Just as their lips were about to collide, Echizen yelled for him to stop. "You can't!" the freshman screamed at the top of his lungs. "Your first kiss is supposed to be reserved to awaken mother!"

Stopping abruptly, Tezuka glared at Echizen. "What?" he asked irritably.

"Mother's powers can only be awakened by your first kiss as the Magical Buchou! You cannot lip-lock with anyone else before that, or else the future cannot be changed!" the freshman explained exasperatedly.

"Fuji will die at this rate!" Tezuka argued.

"His life is nothing compared to your first and foremost task, which is to save the Lunarians from calamity!" his son retorted. "We don't even know if he's an enemy or—"

"ECHIZEN!" Tezuka roared.

The freshman was rendered speechless under his father's imperial glare. He could only stare with hatred at Fuji-senpai's body resting in his father's arms—which were only meant to hold his mother.

Just then, Fuji's body began to glow of a bright blue light. The sparkling rays radiated off his body and before long, the prodigy's cheeks began to flush red again. As the radiance flashed and suddenly dissipated, Tezuka was surprised yet glad to find Fuji's body regenerating blood at a tremendous speed. "He… he's going to be fine," the captain told his teammates, his usual stoic voice dripping with relief. "Looks like we were underestimating his capabilities."

Fuming with anger, Echizen called his cat and dashed away, leaving his senpai to deal with everything by themselves.

Tezuka sighed at his future son's actions and picked up his nicknamed wife bridal style. He nodded at the Magical soldiers and they all transformed back to their normal selves. "Let's go back."

As Oishi picked up the newly collected TennisBall, the tired Magical soldiers retreated to their respective dorms, nervously waiting for Monday to come.

~To be Continued~

* * *

**A/N: **I'm back! I drifted away from the fandom but I'm never going to leave Tezuka and Fuji alone and unfinished like this! I just hope this lengthy chapter was worth the wait! (Please don't hate me! I promise I'll finish typing in next chapter soon!)

**Preview for the next chapter: **The Rudolphians, stronger than ever, start to cause havoc at Seishun Academy! Fuji is targetted again and this time, Mizuki has something up his sleeve! If Fuji's blood were to be completely sucked clean, what would happen to him? Enter the owner of the green TennisBall!


	8. The Healer's Apprentice & Mizuki's Plan

Gomen, no time to review reply today! History project to hand in tomorrow... I'll reply the next chapter, promise!

**

* * *

Title:** Tales of the Magical Buchou [Arc I: The intrusion of the Rudolphians]**  
Rating: **PG-13.  
**Pairing: **ZukaFuji.**  
Summary: **The Rudolphians, stronger than ever, start to cause havoc at Seishun Academy! Fuji is targeted again and this time, Mizuki has something up his sleeve! If Fuji's blood were to be completely sucked clean, what would happen to him? Enter the owner of the green TennisBall!

**Disclaimer: **Background plot is inspired by Sailor Moon (but I realized it's nothing like it. Ahem.) Fuji and Tezuka own each other and Konomi-sensei owns the rest. I suck.

I'm proud to announce that there will be ten more chapters before the end of this series! Then, if you still feel like reading, there will be a sequel in which Hyotei will be the major opposing school. Anyhow, enjoy the read!

Many thanks, as always, to my most wonderful beta BleuFleur. *Bows to your prowess*

* * *

**~ Tales of the Magical Buchou ~**_  
Chapter eight: The Healer's Apprentice and Mizuki's Plan  
_

"Tezuka?" Fuji asked, almost timidly, as he pushed open the door to the rooftop. He thought he had heard someone call him, like a chant, luring him to the empty roof. He thought he saw a glimpse of disheveled chocolate brown hair, which looked a lot like Tezuka's, and followed it by sheer curiosity. However, as he stepped out in the open, he saw nothing but a deserted rooftop and heard nothing but the silent whispers of the wind. Frowning, Fuji looked around, knowing that he had seen someone come up to the roof. He was sure though, that whoever it was that called him was not his nicknamed husband, only because Tezuka wasn't one to hide himself away. Shivering slightly as a gush of cold wind blew on his face, Fuji tugged at his uniform to keep himself warm.

A movement. A shadow.

With a start, Fuji turned around only to find a fist connecting with his stomach. He closed his eyes in pain before the darkness engulfed not only his vision, but his heart as well.

A snicker, a maniacal laugh.

"Well done, boys!" an arrogant voice declared. "Nfu, I knew this would be easier done than said!"

Two Rudolphians bowed in acknowledgment.

"Good. Now, you may feed on him as much as you want, but don't kill him yet. We need his strength in the future," that said, the voice started to fade out.

The same two Rudolphians bowed again, before smiling to themselves for the meal they were going to feast on very soon. They eyed the unconscious body lying on the floor, smirking.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

Beside the tennis courts sat three regulars. Free training period had just ended and Momo, Oishi and Kawamura sat down under a tree to eat their lunch. Only after practice did Momo let his mind wander. Tezuka-Buchou had to attend to a student council's meeting, no doubt busying himself with work, he thought. Eiji-senpai had wandered off, because lunchtime practice didn't require obligatory attendance—Momo only went because he wanted to beat that stupid Mamushi. Fuji-senpai was surely attending to his photography club while Inui-senpai dedicated himself to concocting new juices in the school's laboratory. He shuddered at the thought. Now, they were only missing that shorty, Echizen. That little cocky freshman was surely somewhere sleeping again. Momoshiro swore he would beat the little pipsqueak at hamburger eating next time they had a faceoff.

His eyes subconsciously caught a shadow at his far left. Frowning, Momoshiro nudged his senpai, Oishi, on the arm. His eyes stared at that black spot on Seishun Academy's rooftop skeptically, waiting for a response from the vice-captain. As Oishi finally lifted his eyes from his lunch to look at him, Momo felt a sense of dread rise from his very core. He whispered, as quietly as possible for his usually loud mouth, that he might have seen a Rudolphian landing on their roof. He pointed to the dark spot not so far from the tennis courts, hoping that his eyes weren't mocking him. After all, they had just finished training and he hadn't finished his food yet. As he heard a sharp gasp coming from both Oishi and Kawamura, who was sitting across from them and happened to listen to their conversation, he knew he wasn't hallucinating. The three of them stood up at once, abandoning their food, though Momo did so reluctantly, and promptly ran for the rooftop.

They transformed rapidly, Oishi in a frantic puff of grey smoke, Kawamura in a flash of yellow light and Momo almost tripping over his own feet after realizing he hadn't brought with him his dark blue TennisBall. His senpai could only sigh at him as he brought a hand to the back of his head and laughed nervously. They didn't run far, however, before a Rudolphian materialized before them.

"And where do you boys think you are going?" the mocking voice asked.

"Who are you?" Oishi, always being the careful one, asked as he stepped back to increase the space between them. They didn't recognize this new Rudolphian, who wore a shirt of the same gay-purple color as the snowflakes that fell when they were around.

"Nfu… my name… is too beautiful for your ears to handle!" the unknown Rudolphian declared, blushing as he brought a loving hand to caress his own face in self-admiration.

The Magical Soldiers tried hard not to run for the bathroom. Momo, especially, had to bring a hand to his mouth to hold back any uncivil… tendencies. He had met a lot of people who were very… self-centered, but not even the biggest diva he knew, Atobe, was haughty to the point of self-worship with no foundations—and absolutely no sense of fashion, apparently, he added as an afterthought. Momo was about to comment on that when he almost choked on his own breath. What was wrong with this Rudolphian?! "WE GET IT ALREADY!" Momo finally screamed, and he knew he was doing it for his two senpai as well, "You don't need to strip here!"

Indeed, the new Rudolphian was taking off his shirt outside their school, for no apparent reason. Momo could see Kawamura-senpai trying to hide behind Oishi-senpai, who was covering his eyes and blushing madly.

"Nfu, you are too soft, weaklings!" the Rudolphian said, chest bare and gay-purple shirt resting in his hand. With a jerk of the arm, he sent his shirt flying towards the Magical Soldiers. The piece of cloth glowed as it touched their bodies and immediately glued them together. Their enemy roared with laughter as they were successfully trapped together. He drew a large circle in the air with his finger, and the door to an unknown purple dimension opened. "A glimpse at my beautiful chest, and they are all enamored. What a beauty I am!" he mumbled to himself as he stepped in the new dimension and disappeared.

The Magical Soldiers shivered. Surely, that was the scariest Rudolphian they had met so far. They sat in silence for a moment, all three trying to erase the mind-scarring images out of the back of their eyelids. It was Oishi who spoke first.

"We should really get some help…" he suggested. "I can't believe his shirt can be used as a tying rope!"

"And I can't believe how gay a color it is!" Momo declared, wincing in disgust.

"Momo, you shouldn't judge people," Oishi reprimanded gently. "I don't believe that only a shirt can indicate a person's sexual orientation."

"But it's PURPLE with PINK roses!" the second year wailed. "What in the world can rival _this_ level of gay?"

"Momo!" Oishi scolded again.

"Karupin!" Kawamura yelled, this time.

"No, Taka-san," Oishi told him gently, "I was talking to Momo."

"No, well I know, but, I mean, look, there's Karupin!" the shy third year explained, pointing in Karupin's direction using his chin since his fingers were tied behind his back. His two other friends followed his example—Momo having more difficulty redirecting his gaze since he had his back against Kawamura's in their weird, tied-up position—all staring hopefully at Echizen's Himalayan fur ball, without its master, striding their way. Oishi explained that it was surely because Karupin had sensed the Rudolphian's evil auras and come to save them.

"Fshuu… where did you go?" a deep voice asked, startling the three Magical Soldiers. Before long, Kaidoh, in his jogging outfit and his green bandana, appeared from behind a tree on all fours, looking around wildly for something.

"MAMUSHI!" Momoshiro's loud voice yelled.

This time, it was Kaidoh who was startled. He jumped on his two feet and flushed ten shades of red as he realized there were three people in front of him he hadn't seen. "Idiot peach?" he asked.. He then stared at the two others, and his eyes widened after further inspection as he recognized the vice-captain's face under his black hood and Kawamura-senpai's gentle and light brown eyes through his golden armor. "Oishi-senpai, Kawamura-senpai," the one nicknamed Viper whispered, disbelievingly. "What are you all doing here?"

"The question is, what are _you_ doing here, Mamushi?" Momoshiro asked wickedly. "Oh, chasing after cute animals again, aren't you?"

Kaidoh hated that Momoshiro always hit bull's eye whenever it came to either annoying him or embarrassing him. "Shut up! I'm not! I was just…" he tried to explain, to no avail.

"Whatever, Mamushi! No one will believe you anyway so just help us with this human-sticking ugly shirt that's binding us together!" Momoshiro yelled impatiently.

Kaidoh approached them carefully, frowning and hissing. As he got closer, Oishi's pocket began to beep. Or rather, the green TennisBall in Oishi's pocket began to beep. Eyes widening as realization dawned on him, Oishi quickly struggled against the Rudolphian's sticky shirt to hopefully be able to move his hands to his pocket. As he managed to fish the TennisBall out, he gently laid it on the ground and it automatically rolled to Kaidoh's feet. "Kaidoh, try saying Green TennisBall power make up," Oishi instructed.

Kaidoh did not respond. He instead blushed a deep shade of red and hissed in disapproval.

"Kaidoh, you must say it! The Rudolp—" Oishi was cut off when Momoshiro decided to speak up.

"What, are you scared Mamushi? It's just the team's new fighting cheer. If you can say 'Seigaku fight-o!' then you can definitely say 'Green TennisBall power make up'," the second year dared. "Oh, unless you are too much of a coward that is," he added.

Grabbing the TennisBall in hand, Kaidoh glared at Momoshiro, his worst enemy. "I am not a coward! And why should I listen to you anyway? I won't say 'Green TennisBall power make up' or whatever chant just because you told—" he couldn't finish his sentence, however, as his TennisBall began spraying a thick, green mist, indicating the start of his metamorphosis.

Momoshiro grinned, knowing he had succeeded in fooling his stupid enemy again. "I wonder what kind of idiotic costume Mamushi will come out in," the powerhouse wondered aloud. As he said that, the mist began to clear. When the green substance dissipated into air, all were astounded at Kaidoh's transformation. Or rather, lack thereof.

"Er…." Oishi mumbled, looking rather puzzled.

"What, no odd costumes for Mamushi?" Momoshiro said, rather disappointedly. Kawamura only chuckled nervously, as he always did.

"Fshh…" Kaidoh answered, annoyed and waiting for an explanation.

"Hum… so actually, we are Magical Soldiers from the future," Oishi began. Kaidoh already looked at him disapprovingly. "We are here to save the planet from the Rudolphians, who know how to suck human blood to gain power. Just like Vampires, you know. We need to get the job done as soon as possible to prevent them from doing anything too drastic. I think we will return to the future at some point and get Tezuka's wife back, but we're not too sure as of how…"

"Buchou's wife?!" Kaidoh asked, startled.

"What, jealous, Mamushi?" Momoshiro immediately provoked.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Kaidoh retorted, furious. They glared at each other for a long time before Oishi cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Now, Kaidoh, you must go check out the Rudolphian on that roof right there," Oishi continued, pointing to Seishun Academy's roof with his chin. "If you see Tezuka, Eiji or better, Echizen, you can ask them for help. You don't have to fight the Rudolphians, just check out the situation."

"Fshh…" Kaidoh hissed uncertainly.

"Just go!" Momoshiro chided. "Or are you too much of a coward to do it?"

Kaidoh decided he didn't want to grace that with an answer; Momoshiro didn't deserve it. He glared at his worst enemy one last time and ran away in the direction of the roof, with Karupin, who had come out of his hiding place, following his every step. As Kaidoh disappeared inside the school, Karupin ran away.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

"Targeting the innocent time and time again; your actions are evil, and in the name of tennis, I shall punish you!"

After Kaidoh opened the door to the rooftop, the first thing he had seen was his tennis captain transforming into a weird costume that reminded him of Zorro, a hero from a novel he had once read by mistake. If that wasn't unexpected, then hearing their captain shout 'Black Crystal TennisBall power make up!" with complete dignity was. And if that wasn't enough to make him question the world's sanity, then hearing his Buchou condemning people in the name of _tennis_ was surely enough. With a hiss, because everything came with a hiss for Kaidoh, he watched as Tezuka-Buchou took a rose from his pocket and launched it at the Rudolphians (he believed that's what Oishi-senpai had called them).

He had expected the fight to last longer, but the Rudolphians quickly retreated with a smirk. The second the enemy vanished, Tezuka-Buchou in his very black costume ran to the person lying on the floor, a person Kaidoh had not noticed lying there for the Rudolphians had blocked his view. Hesitantly, he approached his captain, whose usually composed stance was cracking. "Buchou?" he tried timidly.

Tezuka, who had been kneeling on the floor, looked up at him with a slight start. "Kaidoh," he pronounced, his voice unwavering, expertly hiding all the insecurities he felt inside.

Kaidoh almost gasped as his eyes noticed the one lying in his captain's arms, white as a cloth, cold as the snow. "What happened to Fuji-senpai?" he asked hesitantly, not wanting to stir any more hate in his captain.

"He was lying cold as I came to the roof to eat my lunch after finishing my student council work," Tezuka explained. It had been a habit for him, and sometimes Fuji when he wasn't dining with the Golden pair, to seek the quiet environment that Seishun Academy's roof provided. Tezuka had never thought that he would find Fuji being attacked by Rudolphians while he was so near. Though his powers were still weak, Tezuka could begin to feel the enemy after he managed to unleash the Tezuka Zone. This time, he had been too absorbed into finishing his work that he had let his guard down, and his childhood friend was paying with his life for his carelessness. Tezuka gritted his teeth in anger.

"Let him die," a third voice chimed in. Kaidoh and Tezuka lifted their heads up in synch to see Echizen bouncing his way up to the roof, his sneakers shining from using his ability, 'haste', with Karupin trailing behind. "He has lost too much blood," the freshman continued, pointing at Fuji, "to survive for more than a few hours from now."

The Magical Buchou glared at his son menacingly, while Kaidoh still tried to figure out the logic behind things. "Last time, Fuji recovered in a few minutes," Tezuka argued. "This time shouldn't be any different."

"But his power is different now. It has a darker aura that I don't trust," Echizen retorted. "I don't believe he will be able to recover since it has been some time now since he had been attacked. His power didn't activate then, so technically it won't do so now."

Tezuka could only throw daggers at his son with his eyes. "I told you I will not leave Fuji alone, Echizen," he repeated, knowing that his son wouldn't miss the dead seriousness in his voice. "I will save Fuji, even if it means losing my life."

His son only shrugged in answer, as if not believing his words. "Then perhaps you should ask Kaidoh-senpai there, for help," he said.

Tezuka stared at Kaidoh intently, almost making him fidget. "Fshh…." Kaidoh finally said, vexed and unable to do anything but try to understand how he had ended up as the star of their unusual conversation.

"I can feel that Kaidoh-senpai has transformed, even though he doesn't have a fixed costume like the rest of us has. He is the Healer's Apprentice, back in the Celestial Palace. The Healer is the best doctor on the moon, who takes care of those living in the palace exclusively. Kaidoh-senpai here," he pointed to said man, "is his apprentice and therefore can perform a blood transfer on Fuji-senpai."

"How does it work?" Tezuka asked impatiently, not wanting to lose a single moment since Fuji's life was at stake.

"Kaidoh-senpai, take off your bandana," the freshman demanded.

Seeing that Kaidoh was about to refuse being ordered around by an underclassmen, Tezuka sent him a warning glare, reminding him that Fuji's life was in play. With a frustrated hiss, Kaidoh took off his bandana and waited for the rest of the instructions to come. Echizen smirked.

"Next, hold one end in your hand and lay the other on my father's chest."

"Father?" Kaidoh asked, knitting his brows together. This wasn't something Oishi-senpai had told him, if he remembered correctly. What the heck was happening? First Tezuka-Buchou had a wife, and now, a few dozen of minutes later he has a son!

"Tezuka-Buchou is my father. We come from the future," Echizen explained rapidly. "Now close your eyes, stop asking questions I will answer later and concentrate on my father's blood."

With another hiss, Kaidoh proceeded to do just as instructed. He approached Tezuka, who was holding Fuji's limp body as if for dear life, and gently laid the green piece of cloth on his chest, right where his heart rested underneath.

"Close your eyes and concentrate on feeling where father's blood flows, and when you feel it clearly, lift your bandana up and swing it towards Fuji-senpai's heart."

"Fshhh…" Annoyed but scared of receiving another glare from his captain, Kaidoh did as told. As soon as he closed his eyes, he was surprised to find out he could easily locate his tennis captain's pulse through his bandana. As instincts clouded the better of his judgment, his arm jerked on its self and with a swing, like he did when he performed the snake shot, he hit Fuji-senpai's chest with the green piece of cloth. A thin thread of blood followed his bandana, transferring from Tezuka's body to Fuji's. Echizen smirked.

"If you want him to recover faster, you can use your Tezuka Zone to transfer more power to him," Echizen said, clearly addressing his father. Kaidoh hissed at his arrogance while Tezuka just nodded, closing his eyes and sucking in the particles of magic in the air as his blood still flooded, like a red thread, into his nicknamed wife's body.

A few minutes later, Fuji's skin began to gain some color, even though Tezuka suspected he was nowhere near fully recovered. "I think that's enough, Kaidoh," the Magical Buchou finally said.

Kaidoh removed his bandana and the thread that connected Tezuka's heart to his childhood friend's disappeared. Echizen congratulated him on a job well done. "I wasn't doing it for Fuji-senpai though," the freshman clarified after a few minutes of silence. "I wanted to test Kaidoh-senpai's strength. If the blood transmission failed, then Kaidoh-senpai wouldn't be very useful in the future…"

"What did you say?" the Viper retorted, his voice low and menacing.

The arrogant brat only smirked, and with a nonchalant wave of the hand, disappeared as he jumped off the roof. As soon as he was gone, the door to the rooftop barged open, revealing a very frantic Oishi, a panting Momo and a blushing Kawamura. The three of them looked around nervously, calming down only slightly after noticing there were no Rudolphians in sight.

"What happened?" Momo asked finally, breaking the silence.

"Nothing," Kaidoh answered, suddenly very angry from seeing his worst enemy's face. "Not that your small brain would comprehend it even if I told you."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, MAMUSHI" the powerhouse asked, fuming.

"I'm saying you have a small brain and apparently equally disabled ears!" Kaidoh answered, not missing a beat.

"I DARE YOU TO REPEAT THAT!"

"Guys… you shouldn't fight…" Kawamura tried.

"It has nothing to do with you!!" Kaidoh and Momoshiro screamed together, which successfully shut the poor shy boy up.

"Don't scream at Taka-san like that, it's impolite!" the mother hen chided immediately. "Apologize now, Momo, Kaidoh!"

Sighing at his loud and inconsiderate teammates, Tezuka shed his Tuxedo Mask costume and morphed back to his usual school uniform. He pulled Fuji close, standing up and walking away unnoticed. It seemed that without Kikumaru there, he was the only one defending Fuji's well-being. He laid Fuji's limp body on his bed once he reached his dorm room, locking the door behind him. He needed to attend to his afternoon classes, which would begin soon, but decided that he should instead spend just this little time with his childhood friend. It was at moments like this, when Fuji would be sleeping soundly on his bed, his face looking so serene, as if there was nothing wrong with the world… it was at moments like this Tezuka would feel incredibly lonely.

Lonely from his unrequited love.

But Tezuka was never going to admit that, not even to himself. Especially not to himself. It was wrong to fall in love with his childhood friend, of the same gender no less, who he shared a dorm with and who became his wife without his own consent. Closing his eyes in frustration, he gently laid his ear on Fuji's chest, listening to the faint heartbeat he had come to cherish as a priceless sound. A sound that could vanish at any time now that Fuji became the Rudolphians' target. It was a sound he had taken for granted before, when they would snuggle together in bed during their boyhood, and he often used Fuji's soft chest as a pillow. Whenever he would close his eyes, Fuji's hands would play with his brown locks while his heartbeat would lull him to sleep.

Tezuka missed those times he spent with Fuji, when he didn't know yet that the natural attraction he had towards the honey-haired boy was love. It wasn't love still, he tried to persuade himself, even though his denial wasn't convincing in the least and did nothing to calm his restless heart. He would have laughed at himself for acting so out of character if his heart had been in any less pain. With a strong resolve, Tezuka reluctantly stood up, squeezing his beloved's hand one last time before exiting their shared room to attend afternoon classes.

As he closed the door behind him, a pair of violet orbs glowed in the dark.

~To Be Continued~

* * *

**A/N: **I hope this was okay... ten chapters to go to close the story! Hopefully I'll get to write this weekend...

**Preview for the next chapter: **The last TennisBall is missing. Echizen can't feel its presence, which means the Rudolphians don't have it. Knowing not how to proceed, Echizen decides to recover the Magical Soldiers' memories first by performing once more the Recollection Ritual. Tezuka meets Serenity again, and he surprises himself as his affections for Fuji began wavering...


	9. Wavering Souls

Sorry for the year-long hiatus I took. But like I said, I'm determined to finish this story. Although in the next week I'm concentrating on my exams, this will not be abandoned. Thank you very much for staying with me all this time! If you are still reading this story, please do leave me a message so I will know ^^ -Kaoru-chan

* * *

**Title:** Tales of the Magical Buchou [Arc I: The intrusion of the Rudolphians]**  
Rating: **PG-13.  
**Pairing: **ZukaFuji.**  
Summary: **Once more, Echizen asks Karupin to perform the Recollection Ritual, in hope of smacking some sense into his father, whose feelings towards Fuji were developing too rapidly for the freshman's liking… and just what in the world does Fuji-senpai have up his sleeve?

**Disclaimer: **The plot is inspired by Sailor Moon. The characters are from Prince of Tennis. Tezuka and Fuji belong to each other. I wish I could own them to marry them off, but unfortunately I'm a simple fanfiction writer (and a debutant at that…)

**~ Tales of the Magical Buchou ~**_  
Chapter Nine: Wavering Souls_

Tezuka voiced an inaudible sigh as the door to his and Fuji's room clicked shut. For a brief moment, he wondered how it was possible that his orderly life seemed so far away. He closed his eyes, trying to recall the repetitive routines he had before his future son's sudden appearance turned everything upside down. One moment, he was running afternoon tennis practice, just like he always did, and the next he had become a father, a husband and a king. Of the moon, no less. Tezuka choked back another sigh and closed his eyes heavily, no longer sure if he preferred his previous life or this new one, which was imposed on him without his consent. As his mind wandered further on the subject, a sudden realization hit him.

He had given his heart to his childhood friend, but his future self had already married a woman and borne a child.

That could only mean one thing. And the mere thought of having to choose between Fuji and the responsibilities his future son imposed on him was giving him a migraine. After having spent so many years in the company of the prodigy, he suddenly realized he couldn't even fathom the rest of his life without feeling the occasional brush of their hands together when they were walking, or hear the teasing laughter his friend often directed at him. Never had the thought of not having Fuji stand next to him crossed his mind until now, and Tezuka realized with a start that he had taken the other's presence at his side for granted.

Clearing his head, the stoic youth decided to put the matter at rest. He could mull over the subject later; it wasn't as if Echizen required him to choose right away. His priority at the moment was to focus on afternoon classes to keep up with his good grades. After all, no matter how much his life was thrown in disarray, he still had the title of top student to maintain.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

Forcing his overloaded mind to keep up with the lecture proved to be easier said then done. No matter how hard Tezuka tried to focus on the lesson, his brain seemed to have a mind of its own. Nothing the teacher said during the afternoon had registered. Even his notes were incomplete and flawed. As Tezuka made his way to the clubroom to prepare for afternoon tennis practice, he wondered when the last time was that he had felt so powerless over the control of his own thoughts. No, he decided as he unlocked the clubroom, this had to stop. If the mere thought of not having Fuji with him brought such turmoil within him, he could not imagine how miserable he would be with an unknown wife on the moon.

He was brought back from his musings when his son entered the clubroom, already clad in his regular's jersey. "Buchou," the freshman greeted, lowering his white cap.

Knowing that the issue of having to choose between his future life on the moon and Fuji would continue to taunt him until he took care of it, Tezuka decided that this would be the perfect time to have a discussion with his son. "Echizen," he began, his serious tone demanding the other's undivided attention. "I believe that after everything is over, you will require I return to the moon with you in order to gain my original life back."

The freshman frowned, not entirely sure why his father suddenly asked him that. Despite his reluctance to answer so soon, as he feared a negative response from the other, he knew he could never disobey his father's commanding voice. "Yes, you will have to return to the moon. King Millennium needs you; you are the other half of his soul after all, which means that half of his powers lie within you," Echizen answered truthfully.

"However," Tezuka quickly followed, "I am not ready to leave everything I have behind."

Echizen's eyes narrowed as realization hit him. "You cannot put your… _affections_,"he spat out the word with uncovered contempt, "for your so called 'wife' over your responsibilities as a king and your love for mother!"

"This isn't simply about Fuji," Tezuka argued. "I am expected, as an only son, to carry out my family's name. I also have dreams and plans for the future I desire to fulfill."

"We can implant another person's soul into your body when you return to the moon. He will take care of your past self, and after you've dealt with the country's problem as a ruler, you can find the time to switch with him and visit your _beloved_ Fuji-senpai," Echizen retorted. "Your strength is irreplaceable on the moon, while your existence right now, in the past, is flimsy. King Millennium cannot rule over a kingdom if he only has half his soul whereas Tezuka Kunimitsu can be erased from history without a problem," the freshman concluded.

"I do not doubt my responsibilities as the other half of King Millennium, however, I refuse to have someone else take my place here, on earth" the mere thought of having someone else in his body sent a shiver down Tezuka's spine. "And Fuji—"

"Give mother a chance," Echizen cut him, his usual mocking eyes turning sincere, almost pleading. "King Millennium loved her with all his soul. You are half of that, so at least judge after you've met up with her, please."

Tezuka blinked. It suddenly dawned on him that he knew nothing about Serenity except for her youthful outward appearance, which he had seen from afar during the first Recollection Ritual. If he considered it, leaving his affection for Fuji aside, it was true that he was being unfair to her. How could he judge her, compare her to his attachment for the honey-haired prodigy when he knew not a single thing about her? "Meeting her is impossible," Tezuka finally replied. A part of him wanted to do her justice, while another feared the result of him doing just that.

"It is possible," the freshman said, a smirk stretching on his lips. He knew he had won the argument and heightened his chance of getting his father away from the clutches of Fuji-senpai. "I can arrange a meeting with her for you."

"Eeeh! No way, Buchou is cheating on Fujiko with a girl?" Kikumaru's loud voice suddenly popped into their conversation. Father and son turned their heads towards the door, where the energetic redhead and the vice-captain were standing. "You can't do that, Tezuka! Fujiko is still recovering from passing out, you can't just leave him nya!"

"Tezuka…" Oishi began almost hysterically, but was swiftly cut off by Echizen.

"It's mother," the freshman explained.

"Mother what? Whose mother?" Momoshiro's loud voice asked. A hiss was then heard, along with nervous chuckling. Blinking, Kikumaru and Oishi turned around to see the loud second year, Kaidoh and Kawamura at the doorway, all ready to change for afternoon practice. The latter walked up to Tezuka, informing him that Inui was probably not going to attend afternoon practice since he was busy in the lab room. Kawamura admitted with a blush that he had been too scared of what Inui was making to approach him.

Ignoring them, the redhead pounced next to the second year, jumping up and down in frustration. "Nya, Momo, Buchou is cheating on Fuji!"

"Buchou is… WHAT?" Momoshiro exclaimed.

"He is not!" Echizen shouted, glaring at his stupid airheaded senpai. "It is only right that father takes back his place as King Millennium, next to mother, when our dealings with the Rudolphians are over!" the freshman defended. "And it's not like Buchou can cheat on Fuji-senpai if they weren't even properly going out in the first place!"

Silence filled the room. Tension built up as what Echizen had just said dawned on them. They had been used to seeing Tezuka and Fuji as an inseparable item since the beginning of the year, when students began nicknaming them husband and wife for unknown reasons. Now it dawned on them that the captain and prodigy were anything but.

"But," Kikumaru argued, wanting to bring up the issue of Tezuka and Fuji's date he had set up himself with the help of Momo and Oishi, but he found he couldn't think of a way to continue. He had innocently wanted them to kiss and make up just like real newlyweds, so that he didn't have to see Fuji depressed anymore. But it suddenly hit him that Tezuka and Fuji were probably just friends, nothing beyond, and that the title of wife and husband was imposed on them without their consent.

Echizen ignored him, summoning his Himalayan cat instead. "Karupin," he said, petting the feline. "We will need to perform another Recollection Ritual." The cat mewled, understanding his master's order. The freshman then turned his gaze towards the rest of the regulars. "You cannot judge mother's relationship with father if you've never witnessed them together. I've decided that I will make you guys meet with mother, to be fair to her." Finally, his stare landed on Tezuka. "Father," he asked, hoping the captain would consent to his wishes.

After a moment of silence, the bespectacled youth finally spoke up. "I believe it is only fair," he concluded, trusting his affections for Fuji would not diminish even after this episode. The rest of the regulars could only nod after their captain's approval.

"Good," Echizen smirked, his confidence arising. "Now, you must all transform into your magical selves for us to perform the Recollection Ritual."

"The what?" Momoshiro asked. Kaidoh and Kawamura looked equally puzzled.

"The Recollection Ritual," Echizen repeated. "It's a method which allows one to shut off one's senses and plunge him into the world of Recollection. It can only be performed when you are transformed."

"It's like a sensational 3D movie theater, nya! It's super cool!" the acrobat added.

"But you can't change anything that's happening," Oishi finished. Tezuka simply nodded, giving his approval.

Kawamura, Momoshiro and Kaidoh looked at each other, still confused. They were about to ask further on the subject when a bright flash of red blinded their vision. "Red TennisBall power make up!" Kikumaru chanted before any of them could blink. In a flash, he had changed into his short mini-skirt and red ballerina slippers. The red head winked at them gleefully while arranging the red ribbon he had on his hair. "He he, I'm the first to change!"

"Ah, that's unfair Eiji-senpai! Unfair!" Momoshiro wailed. He too, after a flash of blue changed into his silver armor, one hand gripping his spear and the other his shield. "I'm only second, but I'm still faster than you are, Mamushi!" the second year provoked.

A hiss was the only answer he got, as green smoke filled the room. Too embarrassed to pronounce the magical words that would enable him to morph, Kaidoh whispered them as silently as he could and changed, although his attire remained the same.

Kawamura and Oishi were next, their transformations filling the room with a combination of yellow light and grey smoke. Before long, Kawamura reappeared clad in armor similar to Momo, but his own were gold, while twin axes (still engraved with a smiling face, a heart and an autograph) rested in his hands. Oishi too, was back in his foreseer's costume, completed with a wooden walking cane and a crystal ball.

Tezuka looked proudly at his team, and began transforming himself. A white ball mask covered his rimless glasses while an elegant black tux replaced his uniform. A black magician's hat and a long midnight-black cape completed his attire. When they were all ready, Echizen asked them to join their hands, never to let go until the ritual was complete. On three, they all closed their eyes and Karupin positioned himself in the middle of the circle they formed, beginning the Recollection Ritual.

_Magical __b__odies united__,__  
Hands locked and eyes obstructed,  
Together we remain rooted,  
Bodies and mind connected._

_At the sound of our plea, come in,_

_Join our thoughts, Karupin,  
Release the memories locked within,  
And let the Recollection Ritual begin!_

A bright light flashed as Karupin released one last mewl. Before long, the magical soldiers' bodies became stone statues.

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

Before them was the most majestic castle they had ever seen. Its exterior was made of pure crystal, every millimeter of its structure carved out meticulously in the semi-transparent rock. The fortification was grandiose, built in length rather than in height, which distinguished it from the royal castle on earth. Nameless types of flowers and evergreens surrounded its whereabouts, emphasizing its semi-transparent elegance. It was indeed a sight to behold for the magical soldiers, who had never seen anything as beautiful and crystalline.

_/"Nya… somehow, this place feels familiar!" Kikumaru exclaimed._

"_This is awesome! Too awesome!" _ _cheered Momoshiro._

_The rest could only approve with a nod, awed. Only Echizen smirked, already knowing that he was winning this battle./_

The scenery changed, and they found themselves inside the Crystal Palace. A long hallway stretched before them, and several prestigious portraits and paintings hung on each side of the cream colored walls. Beneath them, a red carpet with elegant broidery adorned the floor, showing off in itself the prosperous life of those whom were lucky enough to live inside the palace. The hallway opened a path to several doors, all of them with a different structure which represented the different people living within. They could clearly feel the presence of Lunarians behind locked doors, which made the complete silence in which they were plundered in seem out of place.

The hall, at its end, led them to a set of stairs. They climbed up the crystal tower, and were surprised that a new pathway opened before them. This time, it only led to two rooms facing each other. The smaller door had a doorknob in red ruby, of the same color of Kikumaru's TennisBall, while the bigger double-door was made of pure, white crystal. They could hear laughter coming from inside the larger room.

Again, the scenery changed, and they found themselves inside Princess Serenity's bedroom. On the queen-sized bed sat two figures, one with shoulder-length honey-brown hair, and the other with short auburn hair. Both of them were laughing heartily, the first clad in a beautiful white dress while the other had the same red skirt and ballerina slippers as Kikumaru.

/_"That's mother and Kikumaru-senpai, at the age of eight," Echizen explained. He stole a glance at his father, and grinned cockily as he saw the other's unwavering gaze on Serenity._

"_Nya! Isn't that me, in the future?" the acrobat asked, oblivious to what was happening with Tezuka. Echizen nodded._

"_Wow! Eiji-senpai, you look much more… mature at eight years old in the future!" Momo mocked._

"_Hey! What is that supposed to mean! I'm mature, nya!" Kikumaru retorted indignantly._

"_Now, now, you guys…" Oishi chided out of habit rather than concern, for his attention was clearly directed at the vision of the future Eiji./_

The two mischievous children in the room suddenly got up from the bed. Kikumaru went to lock the door on his tiptoes, as if afraid to be caught doing it. Meanwhile, Princess Serenity brought with her a crystal staff twice her height and held it straight with both her hands. Kikumaru quickly joined her and, with a smile, also placed his hands on the staff. As the princess chanted a few magic words, a bright blue light flashed, covering the whole room with its brilliance. Before the scenery could fade completely, there was a small voice outside the door, calling for the princess.

/_"Hey, wasn't that Taka-san's voice nya?" Eiji asked._

"_Yeah… it really did sound like me!" answered Kawamura. "But this is so weird. I don't remember anything like this at all!"/_

The next setting showed the palace on earth, precisely in the garden behind the castle they had previously visited. Serenity and Kikumaru appeared with a flash of blue light amidst a garden of roses and camellias. Already they could hear the heavy galloping of horses, most likely guards alerted from the light, approaching them. Panicking, Kikumaru grabbed the princess and despite her struggles, hid her in a bush. Then, chin held up high despite his trembling legs, Kikumaru was determined to protect his best friend. However, as soon as he could distinguish the two horses coming towards them, Kikumaru saw that the men he was expecting to fight were in fact only two boys. The first, mounted on a regal black stallion, had such an air about him that Kikumaru could almost qualify as haughty. The second who had a much more compassionate countenance was riding a beautiful brown horse. The second boy was the first one to leap off his mount but the other, more regal youth was the first to draw his sword and approach Kikumaru.

"Who are you and how did you manage to enter the palace's garden?" he asked, his strong and threatening voice making Kikumaru tremble even more.

However, remembering his duties as a Sailor Guardian, the smaller Kikumaru squared his shoulders and defied the regal youth with a glare of his own. "I am here to see His Majesty the Prince," he said, loud and clear.

Glare suddenly turning menacing, the boy who had been riding the black stallion suddenly swung his sword towards Kikumaru. Before the sword would come to a rest on the red sailor's neck, there was a rustle between the bushes and Serenity appeared. Immediately, the sword was redirected at her, much to Kikumaru's panic.

"Fujik—I mean, princess! You were supposed to be hiding!"

The princess only smiled reassuringly at her best friend and redirected her gaze at the boy who had drawn his sword. She revealed her icy blue orbs and stared at her peer. "You are Prince Millennium," she stated.

The prince sheathed his sword and nodded. "Princess Serenity," he also declared, not a question, but a fact.

The eight year old Serenity smiled and curtsied, followed be a very confused Kikumaru. In turn, the prince and his second in command bowed. As they introduced themselves, it was revealed that the second in command, a foreseer, was called Oishi. While Serenity explained that she was curious to know about her fiancé she had never met before, Kikumaru and Oishi, feeling slightly left out, decided to become friends.

/_"Wow, so the Golden Pair were already an item after so short a meeting!" Momo commented._

"_We're not an item! We are just friends!" exclaimed a blushing Kikumaru. "Right, Oishi?"_

_The foreseer did not answer, but nodded dejectedly anyway._

_Satisfied, Kikumaru continued. "Besides, Tezuka… I mean, Prince Millennium was way too creepy to be approached. His glare could turn birds into ashes already at eight years old! Beside him, Oishi seems like the God of compassion!"_

_Although Tezuka's frown deepened at that, his whole being was focused on watching himself and Serenity, much to his son's secret delight./_

The prince, being the polite gentleman he was taught to be, wanted to help the princess mount his horse so he could show her around his garden, where the guards were few. However his gesture was not seen by Serenity, who already, in a smooth leap, mounted the horse perfectly. She smirked at the dumbfounded prince. "On the moon, everyone knows how to mount a horse!" she chuckled.

"Not meee!" cried Kikumaru, just a few steps away. He grabbed the reigns and tried a few times but never managed to mount the very gentle horse. "Mou! Why is it that I've never been able to do this?" he cried.

"Ah, please, let me help you," the young foreseer exclaimed. He put his arms on Kikumaru's waist and with all the strength he could muster, pushed the other youth on board. The red sailor flashed him a bright smile of gratitude, which stunned the foreseer into a smile too.

Princess Serenity and Prince Millennium watched them, one with a knowing smile and the other with an understanding frown, as the scenery started to fade.

_/"Ugh… I really hate re-watching this sappy… kind of scene, so I'll fast forward it a little bit," said Echizen._

"_Please do!" Momoshiro continued. "Look, it's making Oishi-senpai and Eiji-senpai blush in their corner."_

"_Shut up Momo," Eiji pouted./_

When the next scenery came up, they were back in Serenity's empty room on the moon. A gentle knock could be heard coming from the large double windows in the room. Suddenly there was a rustle, and the sound of a doorknob being turned could be heard. Serenity appeared from her bathroom, clad in a white sleeveless dress. Her hair was still of a silky honey colour, only shoulder-length long. However, she had grown. Her chest was much defined under her dress, her hips became those of a lady and her blue eyes, which used to be deep pools of sea, became the universe - captivating, endless. Her movements were graceful as she moved from the far end of the room to her window, and her moist, pink lips stretched into a genuine smile as the wind caressed her hair, folding her dress. Outside stood two men, the first with disheveled chestnut brown hair and the other clad in a cloak. She quickly ushered them inside the room and closed her window.

"Please wait a moment, I will go call Eiji," she said to the foreseer, the one clad in the black cloak. She discreetly exited her room and went to fetch her best friend in the one opposite to hers. When the doors to her room opened again, a red ball of energy launched itself on the foreseer and clung to him.

"Oishiii! I missed you so much nya!" the red Sailor whined.

Serenity only chuckled as she settled herself next to her fiancé, who now stood a good foot taller than her. She gazed at him with a mischievous smile, which made him frown at her in return. As their small tête-à-têtes were secret and technically illicit, they couldn't ask for tea or cakes from the servants so they were content with only spending some time together chatting. While the two royal youths were much more subtle in their affections, rarely touching, seldom speaking, their guardians were the complete opposite. Kikumaru was generous in his showing his affections and Oishi, although very shy, never pushed the other away. Often times, the foreseer brought flowers for the red guardian when he came to visit while the prince himself was empty-handed. Instead, Prince Millennium offered his presence, occasionally a smile or two, and Serenity was content with those.

As they were chatting, the scenery suddenly began to flash and the loud noise of warning came up.

/_Warning, warning. …approaching. Please evacuate immediately. I repeat, evacuate…_

"_Everyone, join your hands together! Someone's coming!" Echizen yelled._

_"What—What's happening?" asked a very frightened Momo. "Echizen!"_

"_I told you! Someone's approaching us in the real world. We are going to be expelled from this place soon! So grab your neighbor and don't let go!"_

_Angry to be interrupted in the middle of the story, Tezuka could ask for silence and order amidst his team. "Now, everyone, close your eyes.."/_

~oO~Oo~oO~Oo~

As they came to in the clubroom, they could hear footsteps approaching them. All of them managed to quickly change back into their human forms just as the doorknob turned. The door opened and they held their breath. Outside stood a figure dyed in red by the sunset. Tezuka frowned as suddenly a flash of the disappearing image of a smiling Serenity came to his mind. He could see her pure white dress dyed in red, her crimson lips stretched into an enigmatic smile and her blue, blue eyes slowly devoured by blood as she approached them. However, when she spoke up, Tezuka was harshly brought back to reality.

"Ne, what are you guys doing?" questioned his nicknamed 'wife's' feminine voice.

~To Be Continued~

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview: **Tezuka is worried about Fuji, who's been acting weird. He takes his childhood friend to places they have been as kids, but Fuji...


End file.
